The inaugural GCBC Accelerator will provide high-potential projects with access to expert advisory, networks, and resources to scale solutions that work to accelerate investment in the transition in EMDEs
SINGAPORE, May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today at the Ecosperity Week 2025, Mary L. Schapiro, Chair of the Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC), announced the launch of the GCBC Accelerator, a global initiative that will identify, celebrate, and support high potential capacity building projects that mobilize sustainable finance to help bridge the investment and capacity gap in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).
The Accelerator, open to organizations, partnerships, or programs dedicated to building capacity in or for EMDEs, presents an exciting new opportunity for applicants to showcase their efforts supporting the development of climate finance needed to scale the energy transition. Applicants will be able to enter across three distinct categories: mobilizing sustainable finance, building climate capabilities, and fostering innovation.
EMDEs, excluding China, face a nearly $2.5 trillion annual financing gap for sustainable development. Around half of this finance is expected to come from domestic resource mobilization, presenting a transformative opportunity for growth. Strengthening the capacity of financial institutions and professionals in local economies is a critical lever to unlock investment potential. Today, capacity building resources needed to scale the energy transition and sustainable development can often be fragmented, difficult to access, and unevenly targeted. The Accelerator seeks to address these barriers by spotlighting and supporting the world’s most innovative and impactful capacity building initiatives that help channel capital where it’s needed most.
Mary Schapiro, Chair of the Global Capacity Building Coalition and Vice Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) said, “Emerging markets and developing economies need access to the tools, resources, and support necessary to accelerate the clean energy transition. This Accelerator program is designed to identify and scale innovative efforts that support capacity-building, drive economic opportunity, and help build more resilient, sustainable economies. The GCBC is excited to elevate financial institutions, civil society organizations, and others that are engaging in this critical work.”
The GCBC will provide tailored support for selected Accelerator initiatives, including expert advisory, communications and marketing support, partnership facilitation, as well as practical and operational support for capacity building activities. The GCBC will announce selected applicants at New York Climate Week in September 2025. By recognizing these capacity building efforts within the climate finance ecosystem and supporting them to scale and replicate, the Accelerator aims to help organizations and individuals unlock opportunities and accelerate investment in the transition across EMDEs.
Full information on the Accelerator is available here. Applications close at 11:59 PM ET on July 4, 2025.
About the Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC)
The Global Capacity Building Coalition (GCBC) is an unprecedented global initiative. It brings together many of the world’s leading climate finance organizations to accelerate and scale climate and transition finance capacity building for financial institutions and finance professionals, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). The Coalition is designed to enhance collaboration and respond to growing requests for capacity building support from financial institutions in EMDEs to meet the aims of the UN and the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG).
The GCBC was launched by the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions Michael R. Bloomberg, alongside senior leaders of multilateral development banks, finance, and international organizations at COP28 in December 2023.
To express interest in joining the Global Capacity Building Coalition, or supporting its work in other ways, contact secretariat@capacity-building.org.
