ICFA Expands And Launches The International Social Finance Accelerator

The International Climate Finance Accelerator (ICFA) is expanding to include the newly launched International Social Finance Accelerator (ISFA), which aims to promote sustainable economic growth, reduce poverty and improve the living standards in less economically developed countries.

Established in 2018 as a public-private partnership, the ICFA brings together twelve private entities from Luxembourg’s financial sector along with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment, Climate, and Biodiversity. With the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs now joining the partnership, the programme’s scope has been broadened to include social impact finance. 

Operating under both the ICFA and ISFA brands, the combined accelerator will support promising impact fund managers during their launch and early operations. This support includes financial aid and technical assistance through personalized coaching and training workshops.

“By empowering emerging fund managers in climate and social finance, we can mobilize capital to significantly contribute to a more sustainable world. We look forward to advancing this mission with the Government of Luxembourg and our private sector partners,” said Stephan Peters, CEO of the ICFA.

The Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Biodiversity and the Ministry of Finance will support one cohort per year from 2024 to 2026, totalling twelve climate finance fund managers. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Ministry of Finance will support one cohort annually in 2025 and 2026, assisting eight social impact fund managers.

“I am proud to extend our successful Climate Finance Accelerator and enrich it with a social finance programme. This dual focus underlines our commitment to ‘go beyond green’ and leverage Luxembourg’s financial expertise to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Gilles Roth, minister of finance.