ACMFN – Building cleantech value chains and enhancing cleantech financing for MSME

Small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) can make a significant contribution to green and inclusive growth applying clean technologies. Cleantech refers to products, services and processes that reduce or eliminate negative ecological inputs, improve the productive and responsible use of natural resources and provide superior performance at lower cost. As MSMEs are considered to be the major drivers of economies worldwide, there is great potential to be tapped for investments in clean technologies. But access to finance for clean technology investments and clean tech companies is still a central challenge for SMEs wishing to do so.

Against this background, adelphi and its partners provided capacity building for about 400 MSMEs via workshops, advisory and training services as well as national forums for match-making process between MSMEs and financial institutions in China, India and Indonesia. Around 200 MSMEs have improved processes or created cleantech innovations within the project timeline. Further to this financial institutions received technical assistance in the expansion of their lending portfolio benefiting of peer-learning, co-investing and matchmaking opportunities.

Asian Cleantech MSME Financing Network (ACMFN) was a four-year project supported by the European Union that aims to build and leverage a cleantech financing eco-system to spark improved access to finance for Asian cleantech enterprises and enhance sustainable consumption and production patterns in Asia. In order to spark improved access to cleantech finance for MSMEs, ACMFN followed a two-fold approach. First, in order to provide enterprises with the knowledge necessary for raising capital, the project will fund capacity-building measures for about 400 MSMEs in the three target countries. Second, ACMFN seeks to strengthen financial institutions’ understanding of the economic and environmental benefits of cleaner production and green technologies.

To this end, adelphi designed thorough curricula and a set of capacity building instruments on clean technology and cleantech financing uptake in SMEs. The project team conducted workshops and provides advisory services and mentoring. In addition, national forums for matchmaking processes between MSMEs and financial institutions as well as training manuals and toolkits were developed. Around 400 MSMEs have improved processes or created innovations within the project timeline.