The SDG Impact Finance Initiative (SIFI) is pleased to announce the launch of its fifth Call for Proposals under the Innovation Window, focused on “Financial Innovation for Climate Adaptation and Resilience Solutions”.

This Call focuses on Financial Innovation to deploy climate adaptation and resilience solutions such as data-driven risk analytics, resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions, instruments for risk transfer, as well as climate adaptation products, services, and technologies. Eligible solutions must target developing economies that qualify for official development assistance (ODA) under the OECD-DAC list. We strongly encourage submissions focusing on low-income and least-developed countries.

In alignment with our defined SDGs, we are looking for innovative proposals that address the urgent and critical needs within:

• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SIFI is particularly interested in financial mechanisms that accelerate: (a) climate risk analytics and intelligence, (b) resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions (NbS), (c) financial and risk-transfer mechanisms, and (d) adaptation products, services, and technologies.

SIFI will award up to CHF 2,000,000 through this Call for Proposals, supporting up to five Grantees with grants of up to CHF 500,000 each. Applicants must specify their minimum and maximum funding needs in CHF. Grant amounts are not guaranteed, and final allocations will be determined at SIFI’s sole discretion.

SIFI invites registered impact-focused organisations—such as investment managers, NGOs, and similar entities (hereafter referred to as “Candidates”) - to apply for grant funding under one of the following uses of grant funds:

• Feasibility Studies: Funding to evaluate the feasibility of a proposed financial mechanism designed to address a clearly defined problem. This includes:
  • Validating private investor interest
  • Assessing the likelihood of achieving the intended impact
  • Developing the financial mechanism’s preliminary design, including its capital structure and financial model.
     
• Expansion Projects: Funding to scale an already launched financial mechanism and achieve financial viability. This includes:
  • Fundraising and marketing to meet capital-raising targets
  • Producing key legal documents
  • Conducting due diligence on the initial pipeline and deploying capital
  • Hiring key personnel to support the expansion

Financial Innovation is defined as follows: An innovative or new impact financial mechanism or investment vehicle that is eligible to receive a Grant from SIFI.

Evaluation Framework 

1. Minimum Criteria (Eligibility / Pass-Fail)
   1. All Minimum Criteria must be met. Failure to meet any criterion or to provide clear evidence in the Expression of Interest will result in disqualification.
2. Selection Criteria (Scoring / Ranking)
   1. Eligible Grantees and their Financial Innovations will be evaluated and ranked according to the Selection Criteria scoring system.

Further details on evaluation criteria are provided in the Stage-1 document.

Submission Requirements

Candidates must prepare and submit their Expression of Interest (EoI) in compliance with the following requirements:

• Cover Sheet:
  • Clearly state: “EoI SIFI-W1-C5”.
  • Include the Candidate’s full legal name, official address, and website.
• Submission Format:
  • EoIs must be submitted as a single PDF document, not exceeding 10 megabytes (MB) in size.
• Page Limits:
  • EoIs must -not exceed 8 pages, excluding required Forms 1 to 6, and Forms 9 to 11.

Optional: Candidates may also submit a pitch deck as a separate PDF (maximum size: 10 MB). Please note that the pitch deck will not be evaluated.

EoIs must be submitted exclusively through the SIFI website's submission portal. Submissions made by any other method, such as email, will be disqualified.

The submission deadline is the 11th December 2025 at 12:00 (noon), local time in Switzerland (CET). EoIs will only be considered submitted if they are successfully uploaded to the SIFI website at or before the deadline. Submissions uploaded after the deadline will be disqualified.

Clarifications requests regarding this CfP must be submitted in writing to tenders@broadpeak.ch no later than 16 days before the submission deadline.

For any technical issues related to the submission, please contact info@sdgimpactfinance.org.

Materials

Please carefully review the Framework as well as the Stage 1 documentation prior to submitting your Expression of Interest (EoI).

Below documentation also provides contact details and further details on the eligibility and scoring criteria as well as all submission requirements.