For this Call for Proposals, Catalytic Finance Foundation is partnering with the SDG Impact Finance Initiative (SIFI) to broaden market outreach and strengthen the fund selection process.

The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) has identified a significant gap: few regional investment funds serve the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Existing funds are often small and located in geographies seen as high-risk by international investors. To address this, there is a clear need to support early-stage regional actors in building portfolios of reef-positive businesses.

Catalytic aims to close this gap by deploying junior, concessional capital into investment vehicles focused on reef-positive businesses. By providing early-stage, de-risking finance, Catalytic supports regional fund managers in growing a reef-positive economy—addressing current barriers to the flow of concessional finance.

This capital will be directed to for-profit, early-stage funds aligned with GFCR priority sectors and impact safeguards. The objective is to grow a pipeline of financial intermediaries capable of mobilising further capital from global institutions.

Catalytic’s financial instruments are designed to be flexible and patient, supporting fund managers as they scale their reef-positive portfolios while maintaining a focus on impact and risk management.

This Call for Proposals builds on a detailed assessment conducted by Catalytic in collaboration with regional stakeholders—including NGOs, development agencies, and private sector actors—to identify resource gaps and investment opportunities.

We are seeking a fund with strong impact potential, a credible strategy, and the capacity to deploy Catalytic’s capital in support of reef-positive businesses across the Pacific SIDS.

Minimum Criteria (to confirm eligibility of Candidate to the Investment Window )

Minimum Criteria will be evaluated on a pass/fail basis. To qualify, Candidates must meet all Minimum Criteria. Failure to meet any single criterion or to provide clear

evidence of compliance in the EoI will result in disqualification.

1. EoI Eligibility: The EoI must adhere to the submission requirements.
    
2. Candidate Eligibility: The Candidate must be a legally registered entity.
    
3. Track Record: The Candidate must have already invested in businesses, ideally as an asset manager.
    
4. Professional Experience: The Candidate’s management team must demonstrate proven experience, with at least 10 years of senior-level expertise in asset management or other relevant roles.
    
5. Asset Class: The Candidate must target a specific asset class, such as Private Equity, Private Debt, Venture Capital, or Guarantees.
    
6. Target Fund Size: The Candidate must have a minimum target of at least US$ 30 million and maximum US$ 100 million.
    
7. Ticket Size: The fund should have a minimum ticket size of 500,000 USD and maximum of 25 million USD for investing in its portfolio investees.
    
8. GP Commitment: The GP must hold at least 1% of the total fund size at all times.
    
9. Fund Lifetime: The Fund’s lifetime must be equal to or less than 12 years. If the Fund is structured as evergreen, Catalytic must receive its invested capital within 12 years.
    
10. Standards: The Fund’s environmental and social (E&S) standards must meet at least the IFC Performance Standards and the ILO Fundamental Conventions
     
11. First close: The candidate must reach Fund’s first close in maximum 12 months after award notice.
     
12. Thematic Focus:  The Fund must have at least 50% of its portfolio focus on investments benefiting coral reefs, meaning activities that directly or indirectly contribute to coral reef health, resilience, or associated community outcomes, as defined in Annex E (GFCR Sector Investment Principles).Geographical Focus: The Fund must exclusively focus on countries on the DAC list of ODA, with a preference for funds in Asia, and more specifically in the Mekong region (including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and neighbouring countries).
     
13. Geographical Focus: At least 50% of the fund’s portfolio must directly benefit Pacific SIDS, as listed in Annex C. Priority will be given to funds with 100% regional focus.
     
14. Regional Engagement: The fund must demonstrate operational or governance presence in Pacific SIDS, through local staff, advisory partnerships, or board representation.
     
15. Readiness to Deploy: The Candidate must demonstrate soft commitments of at least 20% of the target fund size and provide a pipeline of three reef-positive transactions.
     
16. Documentation: The Candidate commits that all documentation, including the financial model, has been updated no later than 12 months ago.
     
17. Strategy Alignment Statement: Applicants must submit a one-page narrative describing how their fund’s investment strategy contributes to one or more of the GFCR outcomes: Protect, Transform, Restore, Recover.
     
18. Alignment with GFCR Impact Sectors: Sustainable ocean production, sustainable coastal development, and circular economy and pollution management.
    1. Sustainable Ocean Production: Market-based initiatives that promote environmentally responsible fishing and aquaculture practices aimed at reducing extraction pressure on coral reefs.
    2. Sustainable Coastal Development: Businesses that promote sustainable ecotourism, coastal infrastructure, and coral restoration.
    3. Circular Economy and Pollution Management: Sustainable infrastructure and waste management to reduce pollution and sedimentation affecting coral reefs.
        
19. Reef Positive Eligibility: applicants provide a one-page summary on:
    1. Their internal reef-positive investment criteria
    2. Example pipeline deals
    3. Coral reef stressors or resilience levers addressed
    4. Local engagement strategy

Submission Requirements

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

Cover Sheet:

Clearly state: “EoI Catalytic GFCR CA 2025”.

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 10 pages including annexes, excluding cover page and forms.
 

Optional: Candidates may, in addition to the EoI, submit a pitch deck as a separate PDF document, provided it does not exceed 10 megabytes. This 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 4 July 2025 at 23:59 CEST. EoIs will only be considered submitted if they are successfully uploaded to the SIFI website at or before the deadline. You should receive a confirmation email to the registered e-mail address (in the application form). Submissions uploaded after the deadline will be disqualified.

Clarifications requests regarding this CfP must be submitted in writing to secretariat@catalyticfinance.org and before the 18 June at 12:00 CEST.

For any technical issues related to the submission on the SIFI website's submission portal, please contact info@sdgimpactfinance.org.