Climate Fund Managers Secures $140M GCF Approval for CI3

• GCF approval: The Green Climate Fund approved $140 million for Climate Investor Three.
• Country split: SA-H2 Fund gets $84 million and SDG Namibia One $56 million.
• Fundraising target: CI3 is raising capital towards a $1.2 billion target.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $140 million in catalytic financing for blended finance investment manager Climate Fund Managers. The money backs Climate Investor Three (CI3), its global industrial decarbonisation facility, including green hydrogen in Southern Africa. GCF approved it at its 46th Board meeting in Songdo, Republic of Korea, on 26-29 October 2026.

CI3 invests through SA-H2 Fund (SA-H2) in South Africa and SDG Namibia One Fund (SDG Namibia One) in Namibia. $84 million goes to SA-H2’s Construction Equity Tranche, which funds projects through construction. SDG Namibia One receives USD 56 million: $15 million for its Development Tranche, which funds early-stage work, and $41 million for construction equity.

The financing comes through GCF’s Southern African Industrial Decarbonisation Facility (SIDF). The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) oversees SIDF as its Accredited Entity, reporting to GCF. Catherine Koffman, Regional Director for Africa at the Green Climate Fund, said: “The Southern African Industrial Decarbonization Facility is GCF’s first platform dedicated to decarbonising industrial value chains in Africa. By deploying catalytic first-loss equity where risk is highest, the facility aims to unlock a target $1.2 billion programme across South Africa and Namibia, finance 30 to 40 projects, install about 1.52 GW of renewable energy and avoid an estimated 24.2 million tonnes of emissions. It offers a scalable model for competitive, low-carbon industrial growth.”

Under the GCF-supported programme, CI3 will back green hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate industries. Its catalytic funding absorbs early risk to draw in institutional and commercial investors. Andrew Johnstone, Chief Executive Officer of Climate Fund Managers, said: “CI3 marks an important milestone in Climate Fund Managers’ journey of directing capital, through innovative financing structures, into commercial investments designed to mitigate the causes of climate change and help societies adapt to the consequences we witness every day around us. Decarbonising heavy industry is essential to achieving global climate goals and presents a significant investment opportunity. Yet the scale and complexity of these projects create financing challenges, particularly during development and construction. By helping to mitigate these risks, GCF’s catalytic financing can attract institutional investment into commercially viable projects and support competitive, low-carbon industrial growth.”

CI3’s Development Tranche has initial commitments of EUR 150 million from Invest International and the European Commission. In August 2026, SA-H2 reached a R3 billion (about $182 million) first close. Its backers include the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Sanlam Life and DBSA. Climate Fund Managers did not disclose CI3’s total raised so far or its final close date.

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Track Record

The approval builds on GCF’s earlier investments in Climate Investor One, Climate Investor Two and the GAIA Climate Loan Fund. It also follows GCF’s accreditation of Climate Fund Managers in July 2026.

Why It Matters

For Climate Fund Managers, the approval adds GCF risk capital to two funds holding six signed development funding agreements. These include Hive Hydrogen’s Coega green ammonia project and HyIron’s Oshivela green iron project. That positions CI3 to carry such projects into construction. If the GCF cover draws more investors like PIC and Sanlam Life, CI3 could reach its $1.2 billion target sooner.