The Private Financing Advisory Network

PFAN's global network of expert consultants provides free business coaching and investment facilitation to entrepreneurs developing climate adaptation and clean energy projects in low- and middle-income countries. We aim to build clean energy markets one business at a time, mitigate climate change and mobilise private investment in support of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals. PFAN is hosted by UNIDO and REEEP in Vienna, Austria.

To apply to PFAN's continuous call for proposals, click here.

Background

As technology prices continue to fall, clean energy projects become more profitable and the appetite of investors for such projects grows, now is a time of enormous potential for the development of clean energy capacity around the world. PFAN helps investors tap into this potential to expand energy access, reduce damage to the environment, combat climate change and grow local economies.

A rapid scale-up of investment in clean energy generation capacity is required to replace energy generation based on fossil fuels and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. At the same time, significant investment will have to flow towards increasing the resilience of vulnerable populations and helping them to adapt to the changes already here and those still to come.

Governments alone will not be able to provide enough investment to achieve the impact required. Unlocking private sector finance in support of climate action is one of the main challenges that governments, international organisations and development banks have been grappling with since the Paris Agreement entered into force. PFAN has been tackling this challenge since 2006, using small amounts of public funding to leverage large amounts of private sector investment for clean energy and climate adaptation projects in low- and middle-income countries.

While combating climate change is our ultimate goal, in its day-to-day work PFAN is driven by a desire to help entrepreneurs succeed. We know that getting a project off the ground is difficult; we are aware of the barriers to finding investment that project developers face. Helping entrepreneurs overcome those barriers to fulfil their potential and contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation is what drives us.

How Does PFAN Work?

Any entrepreneur wishing to launch or scale up a climate adaptation or clean energy project in a low- or middle-income country, and looking for investment of up to USD 50 million, is welcome to send in a proposal to PFAN. Our Call for Proposals is always open, and you may submit at any time. Proposals must be submitted online, through PFAN’s custom-built project management system. Click here to submit a proposal now.

Each proposal is reviewed by a minimum of two expert evaluators, who assess the maturity, viability and climate change mitigation potential of the project. Selected projects are inducted into the PFAN Project Development Pipeline. At this stage, they are assigned a coach, usually based in the same country. Coaches are selected from PFAN’s global network of clean energy and climate adaptation financing experts.

The Project Development Pipeline consists of three distinct streams:

Long-Term Development Pipeline: Projects that are not yet investment-ready are placed in this stream, where they receive coaching for up to 18 months to reach investment-readiness. After finishing their coaching trajectory, they can be moved into the Investment Facilitation or Clean Energy Investment Forum streams.
Climate & Clean Energy Investment Forum: Projects on the verge of investment-readiness can be selected for participation in a Climate & Clean Energy Investment Forum, where developers get the chance to pitch their business plans directly to a room full of investors. In the run-up to the Forum, these projects receive intensive coaching to perfect their business plans and investment pitches.
Investment Facilitation: Investment-ready projects are placed in the Investment Facilitation stream, where they benefit from one-on-one support by the Investment Facilitation Team, including targeted introductions to investors.