SWITCH-Asia

The Challenge

The biggest challenge remains eliciting the interest of MSMEs in shifting to clean technology (cleantech), as well as those involved in the value chain. The MSMEs perceive cleantech as costly, and if they appreciate the return on investment of such project, it may take some time to recover. Improved understanding of cleantech would be important. However, lack of financial literacy and transparency by the MSMEs are also major issues on the demand side, which hamper further commitments by financial institutions which themselves lack awareness, technical capabilities as well as tailored financial products and co-investment opportunities.

The Objectives

The project seeks to build and leverage a cleantech-financing ecosystem to spark improved access to finance for Asian cleantech MSMEs in order to enhance sustainable consumption and production (SCP) patterns in Asia. The project aims at enhancing the cleantech value chains and access to finance for MSMEs as well as the availability of cleantech-financing products by working with financial institutions (FIs).

The Way Forward

• Promoting cleantech innovation among 1,500 MSMEs and building the capacity of 400 MSMEs from high impact sectors in the target countries;  
• Developing training and guidance materials, or a “Cleantech Innovation Toolbox,” which will be available to all participating MSMEs;
• Creating a pool of trainers which will form sector specific advisory groups and provide follow-up support to the MSMEs;
• Providing financing advisory services to the selected 200 MSMEs;
• Establishing national matchmaking fora between MSMEs and FIs to facilitate the investment process and to build up new investment channels;
• Linking up with other existing initiatives or platforms, e.g. Sankalp Forum in India, CTI-PFAN, UNEP FI, or ADB’s Clean Energy Forum;
• Creating awareness and knowledge among FIs by building their capacities to better understand the cleantech market potentials and to appraise these under a risk-mitigated environment;
• Organising regional marketplace conference to foster matchmaking, co-investing and risk-sharing between cleantech investors and investees.