A Brief Introduction to NDF

Photo credit:Tscherno CC

The joint Nordic development financing institution focusing on climate change and developing countries

NORDIC DEVELOPMENT FUND, P.O. Box 185, FIN-00171 Helsinki, Finland (visiting address: Fabianinkatu 34) Tel: +358 10 618 002, Fax: +358 9 622 1491, e-mail: info.ndf@ndf.fi, website: www.ndf.fi

Key Characteristics:

How does NDF finance?

• Facilitates greater investments in developing countries to address the causes and consequences of climate change.

• All projects are screened for their climate change content.

- Mitigation criteria: The value of the emission reductions should be at least 10% of project investment costs.

- Adaptation criteria: at least 50% of the project costs should be subject to the actual or expected impacts of climate change.

• Offers funding to projects in cooperation with multilateral and Nordic development agencies and organisations.

• Contributes to strengthening the international aid effectiveness and harmonization agenda.

• Applies a specific screening methodology to assess the climate change content of projects ex-ante.

• Promotes a broad scope of Nordic priorities and objectives.

This is NDF:

• Strategic focal areas: catalytic role and leverage, project preparatory funding, support for innovation, support for private sector development and linkages between the public and the private sectors, piloting of interventions with a high risk level and identification of emerging climate change issues.

• Projects are mostly identified and developed in cooperation with partner countries and within the country programs of multilateral development banks and Nordic development financiers.

• Funding level per project ranges from EUR 3 million to EUR 6 million.

• A multilateral development finance institution established by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in 1989.

• Original, subscribed fund capital by the Nordic countries’ equivalent to EUR 1 billion.

• Mandate since 2009 to focus on climate and development.

• Annual approvals for new activities approximately EUR 40 million.

• Has proven effectiveness and efficiency and a value-adding niche as a fully operational and functioning piece in the global climate financing architecture.

NDF focuses its activities on these low- and lower middle income countries: Africa: Benin, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.

• The Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) is a financing window within NDF through which private and public Nordic entities can, in partnership with local partners in an NDF country, seek financing for innovative climate change projects. NCF is a call for proposal facility that supports the piloting of novel climate change solutions and technologies in low income countries.

Regional Distribution of Approved Financing EUR 250 million

28%

3%

23%

Africa

46%

Asia Latin America Multiple regions

Asia: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Vietnam.

Latin America: Bolivia, Honduras, Nicaragua.

As of 8.6. 2016: 88 projects with a total value of EUR 250 million