Sustainable Ocean Production: Projects and activities that encourage environmentally responsible fishing and aquaculture techniques intending to lessen pressure on coral reefs. This includes efforts to establish marine protected zones, improve fish resource management, and reduce bycatch.
Sustainable Coastal Development refers to projects that promote sustainable ecotourism activities, coastal infrastructure, and revenue models for coral restoration. These enterprises aim to assist local people while lessening the impact on coral reefs.
Circular Economy and Pollution Management: Projects that encourage sustainable infrastructure and waste management to prevent pollution and sedimentation, which harm coral reefs. This includes attempts to build wastewater treatment facilities, improve solid waste management, and minimize the usage of plastics.
Supported businesses seek to comply with the GFCR Investment Principles.
Objectives of the RFA and Deliverables
The GFCR has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for non-profit organizations to support reef-positive enterprises with targeted technical assistance (TA) and/or concessional financing (e.g., loans, equity, guarantees). The RFA aims to identify competent non-profit organizations that can deliver and/or coordinate one or both of the following services for the GFCR’s investors:
- GFCR Flexible Technical Assistance: Targeted support for businesses and their associated value chain and ecosystem actors, before or after investment, to increase social and environmental development impact and financial viability in support of an integrated ecosystem approach to coral reef protection and climate resilience.
- GFCR Capital Acceleration: Providing concessional loans, equity, or guarantees to build credit history and de-risk private sector investment into innovative reef-positive firms, including developing an SME network to support GFCR Investment Fund investments.
These two modalities satisfy the GFCR’s need for agile, flexible, and adaptable assistance for individual investments and ecosystem interventions while assuring compliance with the GFCR’s Investment Principles, safeguards, risk management, and gender norms.
Together, these modalities aim to catalyze investments in ocean conservation, encourage long-term reef-positive activities, and serve as a helpful model for impact investors seeking to achieve environmental and social gains in complex and linked industrial and maritime ecosystems.
GFCR Technical Assistance Eligibility
Non-profit groups, including NGOs and IGOs, are eligible to apply. Applicants must be able to develop, procure, organize, and manage projects, as well as implement technical support and/or concessional financing (loans, equity, and guarantees) for for-profit reef-positive businesses, projects, and programs.
How To Apply
Get the Request for Applications (RFA): GFCR Technical Assistance and Capital Acceleration Providers Template.
Please submit this completed document, along with any additional information, by 3 June 2024, 17:00 ET, at https://forms.gle/DdbciaNbSi9FTeks6. Questions about the RFA process can be directed to globalfundcoralreefs@gmail.org.
For further information, click here to apply.
