The shift to sustainable technologies is critical for developing countries to address climate change and follow the Agenda 2030 blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. While green projects in developing economies present significant opportunities to provide environmental and economic benefits, these typically take the shape of small-scale or non-utility scale projects requiring small ticket funding, from a few hundred thousand dollars to USD 10 million.

For international entities, the magnitude of the needed investment does not always justify the transaction costs. Moreover, they may find it challenging to assess local risks adequately. Owing to these characteristics, the financial resources to support these projects primarily need to come from local funding sources, such as national development banks and private equity. 

In many developing countries, there is a lack of funding sources that can assess, absorb, and mitigate the risk presented by the application of green technologies in the country context. Without equipping the financial ecosystems with financing options and instruments specialised in green technologies, capable of taking on a certain level of risk, many projects that have the potential to combine profitability with ethical behaviour, social justice, and environmental care do not reach the implementation stage. To further exacerbate matters, the limited access to suitable resources and the latest technologies increases economic inequality across developing countries.

The greenTEK Ventures global fund was launched in 2010 to develop a holistic approach for creating private equity funds specialised in green technology. Its objective was to build these local funds and empower a team of local specialists to manage these funds. The funds were focused on supporting the uptake of commercially viable technology solutions that foster economic development in ways consistent with advancing environmental and social well-being. The project also aimed to facilitate access to debt for local projects by leveraging private equity funds. 

The initiative sought to build capacity among investors and demonstrate that economic and environmental performance can go hand in hand in these countries. The private equity funds specialised in the deployment of green technologies have the potential to generate substantial financial returns, mitigate climate change, support job creation, reduce poverty, and help these economies in their energy transition.

BASE built a USD 100 million green private equity fund in Mexico and undertook efforts to launch a USD 100 million fund for South Africa and Turkey. greenTEK ventures focused on assisting with the financial, tax, and legal structuring of the funds, and the development of the Private Placement Memorandum. Furthermore, the endeavour helped build and aggregate local funds, generate the initial pipeline of projects, and facilitate cross-sector partnerships, including public-private partnerships.

Projects evaluated included geothermal, energy efficiency, co-generation, solar photovoltaic and solar water heaters, and water and waste management for industrial purposes. greenTEK Ventures also supported the projects accelerating technology transfer from Europe and the US to developing countries, focusing on strengthening investment proposals and evaluating existing technologies.