Climate finance is one of the crucial drivers for supplying and leveraging the activities required for reducing the effects of climate change and adapting to them. As climate change is becoming one of the most important issues of our day, the effects of climate change are unparalleled in magnitude, increasing risks and presents significant challenges, especially for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Despite the importance of SMEs for linking climate action and socially sustainable development, SMEs often face challenges in availability of capital and business advisory for financial planning and management as they grow. Approximately 70% of SMEs need access to external funds to reduce their emissions faster or at all. However, only one-third of SMEs have been offered a financial incentive to reduce emissions. According to the United Nation Environmental Programme, only 26% of SMEs have a resilience plan in place in climate action while 76% believe that large corporations are ahead in adaptation efforts, mainly due to financial access.

While the potential for SMEs to achieve concrete climate action on the ground, with access to climate finance is becoming a major opportunity, many countries are working towards solutions for SMEs in climate finance to strategy implementation. From involvement of leaders and financial organisations in climate finance policies to sustainable practices, SMEs can unlock numerous opportunities and benefits and this module course captures how.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• Understand the concepts of climate finance and the types of climate finance instruments
• Identify the benefits SMEs can unlock with climate financing

Discover how you can use climate financing for your business projects.