Camco invests in activities that contribute to mitigating and adapting to climate change, while promoting inclusive, resilient and sustainable development. Our investment approach is needs-oriented, with a strong emphasis on improving the profitability and ESG practices of SMEs in growth markets. Many of our funds are structured as blended finance facilities with the aim of using public finance to leverage private capital to the levels needed to scale progress.
Step 1: Identify the investment opportunity
Camco aims to adapt continuously to changing financial markets. We identify investment opportunities in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Climate action: Activities that reduce, avoid or sequester greenhouse gas emissions and deliver improved resilience and adaptation to climate change. Such actions align with the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming below 1.5°C to restrict climate-related risks to human health, livelihoods, food security, human security, water supply and economic growth (SDG 13).
- Clean energy: Renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions to support universal access to affordable and reliable modern energy services (SDG 7).
- Nature capital: Activities that enhance biodiversity value, restore ecosystems and foster sustainable forestry (SDG 14).
- Diversity and inclusion: Activities that build inclusive businesses, deliver inclusive employment and provide inclusive products and services take into account multiple identity factors such as sex, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, and (dis)ability. They recognise that the interaction of these factors shapes how people experience climate change, sustainable development and proposed interventions differently (SDG 10). Such activities align with 2X’s gender lens investing (2X GLI) criteria, promoting investment in companies that are female-owned and/or female-led and/or employ a substantial number of female employees, with progressive employment policies and/or products and services that specifically benefit women (SDG 5).
Funding gap
The global financing gap for achieving the SDGs and funding the climate transition remains substantial and continues to widen. Recent analysis from the UN DESA Financing for Sustainable Development Report (2024) finds that developing countries now face an annual shortfall of USD4 trillion to achieve the 2030 Agenda — a gap more than 50% larger than pre‑pandemic estimates, reflecting rising debt costs and constrained fiscal space.
Climate finance needs are equally pressing. According to the Climate Policy Initiative (2025–2026), emerging markets and developing economies (excluding China) require USD2.4–2.7 trillion annually through 2030 to implement their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Global climate investment overall must reach USD7.4 trillion annually by 2030 to stay aligned with Paris Agreement goals.
Meanwhile, female‑owned SMEs worldwide face an estimated USD1.9 trillion credit gap, representing around one third of the global MSME finance deficit. Closing this gap is widely recognised as a major opportunity to drive economic growth, innovation and inclusive development.
At Camco, we see investing in local, small‑scale projects and SMEs as essential to closing these gaps and unlocking lasting social, environmental and economic value. SMEs make up 90% of businesses worldwide and over 50% of global employment, underscoring their central role in driving growth and climate resilience. Supporting SMEs, especially in emerging markets, enables the rapid and cost‑effective deployment of innovative technologies, accelerating progress where it is needed most.
In the energy sector, small‑scale renewable energy remains one of the most effective ways to bring clean, reliable power to remote and
underserved communities, avoiding costly grid extensions while catalysing local development. Access to energy powers schools, health clinics and small businesses, and enhances agricultural productivity, creating immediate and long‑term economic opportunity. Localised solutions are also better suited to withstand the growing impacts of climate change, improving the resilience of both communities and the broader economy.
Camco’s investment model, rooted in local partnerships, blended‑finance structures and high‑integrity ESG practices, is designed to channel capital where it delivers the greatest impact. By leveraging public finance to attract private capital, we help scale innovation, build resilience and support countries and communities in progressing toward a just, inclusive and climate‑secure future.
Step 2: Invest responsibly
Camco is committed to responsible investment, embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into every investment decision to better manage risk and support sustainable, long‑term value creation for our investors. All activities are governed by Camco’s internal policies and procedures, alongside the ESG requirements of the third-party funds we manage.
A core priority is ensuring that our investees implement strong environmental and social (E&S) safeguards and maintain robust risk‑management systems. We work closely with portfolio companies — through training, capacity building and ongoing support — to help them meet these standards and build lasting operational resilience.
Environmental and social safeguarding
All companies and projects supported by Camco are required to comply with:
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles
- Host‑country legislation
- International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards
- Sustainability principles advocated by the United Nations (UN) Global Compact
- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
- International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
- International Bill of Human Rights
- UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Sustainable Finance Directive Regulation (EU) (2019/2088) (where relevant)
Each investee must maintain an E&S Management System (ESMS) that is appropriate to its operations and aligned with Camco’s E&S Safeguarding Policy. This includes the following expectations:
- Sustainability: Integrate E&S considerations into project design through impact assessments (ESIAs) and ESMSs.
- Do no significant harm: Ensure financed activities do not materially harm climate, biodiversity, pollution prevention, water resources, circularity or ecosystem protection.
- IFC mitigation hierarchy: Prioritise avoidance, then minimisation, restoration and — only as a last resort — offsetting.
- Stakeholder engagement: Maintain transparent, inclusive engagement processes and a functional grievance mechanism accessible to all affected people.
- Fit‑for‑purpose risk management: Apply E&S requirements proportionate to the project’s nature and level of risk.
- Gender equality: Adopt a gender‑sensitive approach and zero‑tolerance policies toward discrimination, gender‑based violence and harassment.
- Human rights: Uphold universal human rights and respect workers’ rights in line with ILO standards, prohibiting forced and child labour.
- Indigenous peoples: Align activities with the rights outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Our approach is elaborated in our publicly available Environmental and Social Management Framework.
Enterprise risk management approach
Camco’s investment philosophy is built on the belief that high‑impact investments strengthen long‑term financial performance. Our risk appetite supports commercially viable projects that deliver material climate and development benefits while safeguarding investors, communities and stakeholders.
Enterprise risk management is embedded across the organisation through our Board-approved Risk Management Policy and Procedures, overseen by the Audit and Risk Committee and implemented day-to-day by the risk management team.
Camco’s risk management framework is designed to be anticipatory, proportionate and integrated, ensuring risks are identified early and managed consistently across all mandates. The framework combines top-down governance with bottom-up risk ownership: the Board articulates a clear risk appetite statement and risk limits, while risk management, investment and operational teams apply these in practice through structured screening, due diligence, portfolio monitoring and escalation processes.
The risk management team employs a systematic approach that includes risk identification, assessment, mitigation, monitoring and reporting. This is supported by quantitative tools where appropriate (such as scenario and sensitivity analyses) and qualitative assessments that capture contextual and emerging risks.
Our enterprise risk management approach covers strategic and business risks, financial and operational risks, as well as regulatory and conduct risks.
Our risk management procedures emphasise strong internal controls, clear accountability and continuous improvement, ensuring that risk management remains aligned with evolving market conditions, regulatory developments and best practice standards. Ultimately, this integrated framework helps ensure capital is allocated prudently, operational resilience is maintained and investor interests are protected throughout the investment lifecycle.
Step 3: Govern well
Camco’s approach to governance is grounded in our commitment to integrity, accountability and transparency and in our commitment to ethical conduct. By upholding our principles, we strive to maintain the highest levels of governance excellence, driving sustainable growth and value creation for all our stakeholders.
The Board of Directors (Board) sets our strategy and reviews its implementation, including climate and impact-related opportunities and ESG and impact performance of Camco’s contractual obligations. The Board has five standing subcommittees:
- The Sustainable Business Committee monitors the social, ethical and sustainability performance of Camco and its subsidiaries and funds under management. Also ensures disclosure is aligned with UN Global Compact and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and reviews Camco’s impact reporting.
- The Audit and Risk Committee oversees and reports to the Board on all of Camco’s audit and risk matters, including climate risk.
- The Culture, People and Remuneration Committee reviews and makes recommendations in relation to Camco’s culture and personnel management.
- The Market Development Committee reviews and approves proposed technical assistance and market development activities, and provides recommendations regarding Camco’s market development facility strategy.
- The Investment Committee reviews proposed investments against the investment strategy and recommends them to the relevant decision-maker. It also monitors the execution and performance of investments, including impact and ESG performance.
Camco’s Board and committees are provided with quarterly updates on progress made towards climate and impact targets, and fund-specific performance fees are tied to these targets.
Camco’s senior management team recommends our strategy to the Board and manages its implementation.
Functions
Risk: Ensures that all investments are in line with Camco’s Risk Management Policy and Procedures and its Risk Appetite Statement. Responsible for ongoing monitoring, review, reporting and evaluation of the efficacy of risk mitigating actions already implemented to manage risk at both individual transactions level and the portfolio level within each fund.
Impact: Ensures all investments are in line with Camco’s Environmental and Social Safeguarding Policy and aligned to the company’s impact objectives. Responsible for the environmental and social due diligence of investments, as well as assessment, monitoring, reviewing, reporting and evaluating the climate and sustainable development impacts of investments.
Legal: Responsible for managing legal risk within the Camco group through providing transaction support, corporate governance and legal advice, and carrying out legal due diligence and know-your-client procedures of all transactions prior to investing. Ensures compliance with Camco’s polices and the individual funds’ reporting and audit requirements.
Investment and portfolio management: Responsible for originating and investing in a sustainable, low-carbon future in line with Camco’s investment strategy.
Camco’s ESG governance structure
Step 4: Creating sustainable returns
Camco’s purpose and core strategic objective is to generate sustainable financial returns for our investors while simultaneously delivering strong climate and impact outcomes. Allocating capital to sustainable growth opportunities not only enhances long-term value but also strengthens the triple bottom line. Consistently stronger ESG performance contributes to reduced downside risk.1
We employ a needs-based investment approach designed to expand access to finance for projects and businesses in emerging markets. This includes providing smaller ticket-size investments in contexts where capital is typically available only to the largest and most bankable companies and projects. We also use public finance to de-risk and leverage commercial funding to support returns and accommodate for high perceived risks, including the uncertainty of the policy and regulatory environment.
Camco maintains tight oversight of portfolio performance. We track progress through a consistent set of key indicators, reporting quarterly to ensure transparency, accountability and strong governance. This disciplined monitoring approach supports effective risk management, strengthens investee performance and sustains the long‑term value of our portfolios.
Our impact management and monitoring framework is grounded in globally recognised frameworks, including the Five Dimensions of Impact, the UN Global Compact principles, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring that our investments deliver both financial value and real‑world results.
These requirements, as well as the best practice safeguards presented above in Step 1, are built directly into our legal agreements and operational processes.
Effective monitoring is essential to protecting investor value, and Camco achieves this by working closely with our investee companies from the outset. We support each investee to meet our reporting and performance requirements by:
- Providing onboarding training at term sheet stage, ensuring management teams understand our E&S requirements and monitoring expectations and the processes used to track operational and financial performance.
- Agreeing a tailored monitoring plan, embedded in the investee’s support agreement, that sets out what data will be collected, how often and by whom.
- Collecting periodic performance data, including operational, financial and sustainability-related metrics, supported by documentation that verifies accuracy and completeness.
Performance reporting is based on objective, self-reported indicators such as customer numbers, electricity generated (kWh) and jobs created (disaggregated by gender and skill level). To maintain data integrity and ensure assets continue to operate to standard, all investees undergo periodic reviews covering performance delivery, the status of their management systems and compliance with local regulations.
Through our work, Camco has identified the following four approaches as the most effective ways of improving risk-adjusted returns and transforming the scale of private climate finance in emerging markets:
- Increase the volume of projects suitable for investment. Only by generating a critical mass of successful projects in emerging markets will investment flow at the necessary scale and both actual and perceived risks subsequently be reduced.
- Use and innovate financial structures well-known to the finance industry. Making familiar structures applicable to the challenging context of emerging markets increases investor comfort with the evolving asset class around clean infrastructure.
- Unblock the regulatory and/or policy barriers to market and sector-specific ecosystem development. The adjusted risk of investment in countries with an unstable business environment is significantly higher compared to those with table environments and can be a major deterrent for investors.
- Work as much as possible with local developers who know the context. Emerging markets each have their own culture and business norms, and local developers can navigate these, reducing risk.
