C40 Cities Finance Facility

Name

C40 Cities Finance Facility

Legal name

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Inc.

Website

https://c40cff.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

C40 Cities Finance Facility is a non-profit climate finance facility jointly implemented by C40 Cities and GIZ that helps Global South cities prepare bankable climate infrastructure projects through independent advisory services and technical assistance, having partnered with 30 cities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America since 2015.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Finance Advisory Services

NAICS

Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Nondepository Credit Intermediation (5222)

SIC

International Affairs (9721), Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Finance Funds & Green Investment Facilities (BPADACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Development Finance & Blended Finance Facilities (BPADAOAD), Infrastructure & Project Finance Facilities (BPADACAG)

Keywords

• Climate finance advisory
• Municipal project preparation
• Sustainable infrastructure
• Capacity building services
• Urban climate action

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Multi-donor funding: CFF is a multi-donor initiative funded by government development agencies. Funding is provided by Germany's BMZ and the UK's FCDO as primary current donors, with past support from USAID, AFD (French Development Agency), and CIFF (Children's Investment Fund Foundation). CFF does not charge cities for its services and does not provide monetary financing to projects — it delivers technical assistance and advisory support at no cost.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

C40 Cities Finance Facility (CFF) is a multi-donor initiative jointly implemented by C40 Cities and GIZ that provides independent advisory and technical assistance services to cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It helps municipalities turn climate action plans into bankable, financed projects by offering project preparation support, technical feasibility and financial viability analysis, integration of equity and inclusion, and connections to appropriate public and private financing instruments. CFF does not provide monetary funding; its deliverables are advisory services, capacity-building programs, and a set of freely available tools and guides.

Product overview

C40 Cities Finance Facility is a multi-donor initiative jointly implemented by C40 Cities and GIZ that provides advisory services and practical tools to help cities in the Global South prepare climate infrastructure projects for financing. The core offering consists of independent advisory services that connect cities to expertise and appropriate financing instruments. The product portfolio includes the City Academy on Finance and Equity (CAFE) Workbook for capacity building, and five practical guidance tools covering nature-based solutions, cycling infrastructure, equity and inclusivity, and business case development. The organization supports 38 transformative projects across 30 cities in areas including mobility (e-bus fleets), waste-to-energy, solar installations, and river management. Services focus on technical feasibility, financial viability, social inclusion, and connecting projects to appropriate financing sources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• City Academy on Finance and Equity (CAFE): A series of workshops and learning program implemented by CFF with partner cities, enabling city officials to explore finance and equity considerations for preparing urban infrastructure projects.
• Transformative Riverine Management Programme (TRMP)

Products and services

• C40 Cities Finance Facility Advisory Services Independent advisory services helping Global South cities turn climate action plans into bankable, financed projects. Services include project preparation, technical feasibility assessment, financial viability analysis, social inclusion and equity integration, and connection to public and private financing instruments. Delivered at no cost to partner cities.
• Project Portfolio (38 Transformative Projects) A portfolio of 38 transformative climate infrastructure projects across 30 cities in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, covering sustainable mobility (e.g., e-bus fleets in Mumbai and Jakarta), renewable energy (e.g., solar plant on a rehabilitated landfill in Curitiba), waste management, and nature-based solutions (e.g., Durban's Transformative Riverine Management Programme).
• City Academy on Finance and Equity (CAFE) Workbook
• Strategies for Nature-Based Solutions in Cities
• High-Impact Cycling Infrastructure Guide
• Embedding Equity and Inclusivity in Sustainable Infrastructure
• How to Develop a Business Case: A Guide from Durban

Quantifiable outcome

• €1 billion in capital investment mobilized
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• C40 CitiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2015C40 Cities is a network of nearly 100 mayors of major cities worldwide committed to climate action. C40 Cities co-implements CFF alongside GIZ, contributing global city network reach, climate expertise, and peer learning platforms. C40 Cities is governed by co-chairs (Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr) and board chair Michael R. Bloomberg.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 December 2015GIZ GmbH is a German federal enterprise operating in over 130 countries across governance, social development, infrastructure, and economic development. GIZ co-implements CFF alongside C40 Cities, contributing development cooperation expertise, technical implementation capacity, and global project delivery infrastructure.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Green Climate Fund: The largest dedicated climate finance fund globally, with direct project preparation and financing capabilities for developing-country cities and governments. CFF operates at a smaller scale but with a similar city-focused climate finance facilitation mandate, making GCF the most direct peer.
• Climate Investment Funds (CIF): Multilateral climate finance facility supporting transformative low-carbon and climate-resilient investments in developing countries. CIF and CFF both serve as intermediaries helping cities and governments access large-scale climate capital.
• Global Environment Facility (GEF): Multilateral trust fund financing environmental projects in developing countries. GEF provides grants for project preparation and implementation, overlapping with CFF's mandate of supporting climate project readiness in Global South cities.

Broad incumbents

• Agence Française de Développement (AFD): French development agency with extensive urban climate finance programs in the Global South. AFD is a former CFF donor and operates parallel city-focused climate and biodiversity financing facilities.
• World Bank Climate Action: World Bank's umbrella climate finance platform, including the Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE) for cities and the City Climate Finance Gap Fund. CAPE in particular is a direct adjacency to CFF, supporting Global South cities in preparing bankable climate projects.
• FCDO (UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office): UK government department funding CFF and operating its own portfolio of climate and city development programs. FCDO directly supports comparable city infrastructure initiatives in the Global South.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC): World Bank Group's private-sector development finance arm with extensive climate and cities infrastructure investment programs. IFC's Cities Initiative directly competes for similar projects and offers a broader suite of financing products than CFF's advisory-only model.
• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit): German federal development agency and CFF's co-implementer. GIZ operates globally across climate, governance, and infrastructure programming, with many parallel city-support programs that overlap with CFF's mandate.

Emerging players

• ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability: Global network of over 2,500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. ICLEI provides city-level climate planning and capacity-building support that overlaps with CFF's CAFE and advisory offerings.
• Resilience Shift: Specialized program supporting cities and infrastructure operators on climate resilience practice. Overlaps with CFF's nature-based solutions and adaptation focus, though at smaller scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/c40-cities-finance-facility

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about C40 Cities Finance Facility