China, India and Indonesia: adelphi launches financing network for cleantech enterprises

If consumption and production patterns in Asia are to be made more sustainable, improving micro, small and medium enterprises’ access to cleantech financing is key. This is the objective of the ACMFN network, launched by adelphi and partners in New Delhi, India in February.

The "Asia Cleantech Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Network" (ACMFN) works to build and leverage a cleantech financing eco-system for cleantech micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in China, India and Indonesia. A consortium consisting of adelphi, the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Pupuk (Indonesia), China Electronic Energy-saving Technology Association and Green Start Ups of China, launched the network on 23 February 2016. About 60 participants from politics, industry and financing institutions joined the event held in New Delhi, India.

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.

Capacity-building for about 2.400 MSMEs in China, India and Indonesia

In order to spark improved access to cleantech finance for MSMEs, ACMFN will follow 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 2.400 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 will conduct workshops and provide advisory services and mentoring. In addition, national forums for matchmaking processes between MSMEs and financial institutions as well as training manuals and toolkits will be developed. Around 400 MSMEs are expected to have improved processes or created innovations within the project timeline.

ACMFN is a four-year project funded by the European Union through its SWITCH-Asia Programme. For more information on the project, please visit its website at www.acmfn.com.