There is a growing global demand for investments that provide environmental benefits (green finance) and are gender-responsive, while expanding access and opportunities for those at the bottom of the pyramid. This demand is seen across asset classes and investor types. As a result of these shifts, international investors, such as Multilateral Development Banks, Development Finance Organisations, and other development-oriented financing institutions, have begun to prioritise gender and climate-smart investment standards, using criteria to assess the inclusivity of developmental projects.
UKNIAF works with its partners to evaluate pipeline projects with these criteria in mind then develop concept notes, easing the process of project preparation.
UKNIAFs Poverty, Gender, Social Inclusion and Climate (PGESI & Climate) Tool was developed to support Federal and State Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), screen projects with these priorities in mind. The tool was created to screen Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) that are a good fit for Project Preparation Facility (PPF) support and assists the MDAs assess infrastructure proposals with gender climate and poverty lenses, and to then prioritise these for attracting private sector funding.
The tool will also be used to engage with priority lenders to highlight and negotiate PGESI and Climate Change requirements. The tool provides a common set of best practice requirements as it is based on the IFC’s Performance Standards and the Equator Principles (Equator Principles Association and IFC join forces to build capacity of banks on environmental and social risk management).
Our goal is to strengthen the MDAs’ ability to screen projects in preparation for PPF and downstream financing. The tool will be used to engage with and build institutional capacity regarding climate smart, inclusive and sustainable infrastructure in line with their policy priorities. This framework can be expanded as part of a capital investment program. It will be used to inform and integrate other UKNIAF deliverables like the Decision Support Tool (a tool used to rank and prioritise pipeline of capital projects for funding and implementation as part of the Medium-Term Sector Strategy process). Beginning with the screening of pipeline projects and progressing to the development of concept notes, making a case for PGESI and Climate smart projects to receive PPF, the UKNIAF tool identifies gaps that will be addressed with project preparation technical assistance.
