Despite the rapid growth of global climate finance, estimated at US$2.1 trillion in 2025, emerging and developing economies remain underserved, with advanced economies and China accounting for approximately 80% of financial flows. Across the Global South, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are developing commercially viable climate solutions but face significant barriers to accessing investment. The absence of a centralized, verified registry of climate solutions, fragmented information, complex ESG reporting requirements, and difficulties identifying suitable financing mechanisms create a systemic gap between available capital and promising climate innovations.

Recognizing this two-sided information gap, the Global Climate Finance Forum (GCFF) has embarked on an ambitious effort to map the climate finance ecosystem: highlighting where capital is flowing, showcasing investable SMEs, and connecting them with investors and partners to improve visibility, representation, and opportunities for collaboration.

The first step in this effort is our Climate SME Explorer, an open-access database designed to make commercially established climate solutions across the Global South easier to discover and support.

BUILDING A CREDIBLE SME PIPELINE

Over the past year, GCFF has developed preliminary eligibility and screening criteria and assembled an initial dataset of climate-focused SMEs across Global South markets. The latest version contains 400+ companies spanning 35 countries, representing diverse solutions across renewable energy, agriculture and food systems, waste and circular economy, transportation, water, buildings, and nature-based solutions.

A central challenge in building the database has been defining what qualifies as an investable climate SME. Not every business operating in a sustainable industry necessarily delivers a climate solution, and not every climate-focused enterprise has reached a stage at which it can absorb commercial investment.

To address this, GCFF developed a structured screening methodology grounded in five principal criteria: geography, climate-solution alignment, SME status, independence, and demonstrated commercial or investment traction.

Eligible companies must be based in a Global South market, defined by GCFF to include low- and middle-income countries, as well as underserved communities within high-income countries. Companies must also meet the European Commission's definition of an SME, including its employee and financial thresholds, and retain sufficient independence from larger controlling enterprises to qualify as an SME.

To determine climate-solution eligibility, GCFF uses the Project Drawdown taxonomy, which identifies science-based solutions capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing carbon removal. Rather than classifying companies solely by their industry or sustainability claims, the screening process examines their primary revenue-generating activities and the specific mechanisms through which they contribute to climate mitigation. This distinction is particularly important in sectors such as agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing, where a company's presence in a climate-relevant industry does not automatically establish that its core business delivers a climate solution.

Finally, to focus on businesses with demonstrated commercial or investment traction, companies must have raised at least USD 1 million in funding or generated at least USD 1 million in annual revenue.

The research process draws on existing public repositories and climate-solution datasets, supplemented by company websites, investor and fund portfolios, funding announcements, press releases, and other publicly available sources. Each candidate is assessed against the screening criteria, with information on its geography, business model, climate-solution classification, funding or revenue, and supporting verification sources recorded in a standardized format.

The process has also revealed important methodological challenges. Financial information for privately held SMEs is frequently incomplete or unavailable, company classifications can vary considerably between databases, and publicly reported funding figures do not always provide a clear indication of business size or investment readiness. These gaps underscore the need for transparent screening decisions, consistent verification protocols, and ongoing refinement as new information becomes available.

GCFF's objective is therefore not simply to compile the largest possible list of climate companies, but to develop a credible, structured, and replicable market-intelligence resource that can continue to evolve as the climate finance ecosystem grows.

INTRODUCING THE SME CLIMATE EXPLORER

The initial database will soon be accessible through GCFF's website as the Climate SME Explorer—Discover SME-led Climate Solutions Across the Global South.

The Explorer will feature an interactive globe displaying the geographic distribution of identified climate SMEs. Users will be able to select individual countries to explore the businesses operating within them, with search and filtering options to narrow results by sector, climate-solution type, and available financial information.

Each company listing will provide a short description of its business activities, sector and climate-solution classification, alongside indicative funding or revenue categories where reliable information is available. Rather than requiring users to navigate hundreds of spreadsheet entries, the Explorer will offer a visual entry point into the range of climate solutions emerging across different markets.

The platform is intended to serve investors seeking to identify promising climate SMEs, as well as policymakers, researchers, and ecosystem partners interested in understanding the distribution of climate innovation across the Global South.

Importantly, this initial release represents a starting point rather than an exhaustive census of climate enterprises. GCFF will continue expanding the dataset, reviewing additional discovery sources, refining its methodology, and addressing data gaps as the project develops.

MAPPING THE BROADER CLIMATE FINANCE ECOSYSTEM

The Climate SME Explorer is only the first component of GCFF's broader vision.

Future phases will seek to develop complementary repositories of private capital investors and climate financial vehicles, bringing together information on asset managers, banks, pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and other institutions investing in climate SMEs, whether directly or through financial intermediaries.

The financial-vehicle repository will map instruments such as investment funds, guarantees, blended-finance structures, credit facilities, and bonds, helping identify the mechanisms available to channel capital toward climate solutions in emerging markets.

Together, these resources would enable a more comprehensive understanding of the financing landscape—not only which climate SMEs exist and where they operate, but also which investors and financial structures may be relevant to their geography, sector, and stage of growth.

By synthesizing information that currently exists across fragmented sources, GCFF aims to make financing gaps and opportunities more visible, strengthen connections between capital providers and climate enterprises, and support the development of investment mechanisms better suited to the needs of SMEs.

Ultimately, the ambition is to move beyond identifying climate solutions toward helping create the conditions for those solutions to access capital and scale.

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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Cecilia D'Angelo, Natalie Lai, and Kostiantyn Hrieshnov for their contributions to the development of the Climate SME Explorer. From building and refining the underlying dataset to designing its interactive interface, their work has been invaluable in bringing this initiative to life.

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