BlueOrchard raises $250 million to fund climate projects in emerging markets

Impact investor BlueOrchard, the emerging-markets arm of asset manager Schroders, has raised $250 million in the first close of its new Climate Action Mobilisation Fund, a blended-finance vehicle aimed at climate mitigation and adaptation projects across developing and frontier economies. The fund will lend primarily to banks and microfinance institutions that channel financing to small and medium-sized businesses, alongside some direct corporate lending.

BlueOrchard chief executive Michael Wehrle said the fund pairs the firm's quarter-century of experience in emerging-market private credit with a blended structure, combining public and private capital to lower risk, designed to draw in a wider range of institutional investors. The fund has already received an investment-grade rating from Moody's, the first blended finance vehicle in emerging markets to do so from a major international ratings agency, a milestone that could make it easier for conservative institutional investors to participate.

Early backers include Aviva Investors, Daido Life Insurance, Schroders, British International Investment, and FinDev Canada. The launch reflects a broader push to close the large gap between the capital available for climate finance and what developing economies need to adapt to and reduce emissions.

Based on reporting by Kenny Fisher for ESG Today. Read the original: https://www.esgtoday.com/blueorchard-raises-250-million-for-emerging-markets-climate-finance-fund/