Belize has made significant efforts to respond to climate related challenges, guided by policy documents such as the National Climate Change Policy, Strategy and Action Plan (NCCPSAP) 2015-2020. Challenges in delivering Belize’s climate change priorities include access to, and in some instances, disbursement of climate finances owing to the lack of capable deployment vehicles at the national level. One of the keys to unlocking climate action funds, at scale, is to leverage the unique position of national Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). These institutions sit at the nexus of entrepreneurship and capital for the creation of economic and social goods and services. Building the capacity of DFIs to access and deploy climate funds from various sources, in particular the Green Climate Fund (GCF), can facilitate climate smart investments. Additionally, it can facilitate delivery of gender-responsive climate finance, directly into local economies.

Understanding that climate financing must be scaled up to match increasing demand, the Government of Belize (GOBZ) has nominated the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) of Belize for accreditation to the GCF as a Direct Access Entity (DAE). In 2019, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) conducted a Gap Assessment of DFC to analyse the Corporation’s performance regarding the requirements of GCF accreditation standards. The assessment identified a number of performance gaps and recommendations for actions to be taken by DFC to meet GCF accreditation standards.

This proposed Readiness grant is informed by the recommendations from the PwC Gap Assessment. The Readiness grant provides technical support to strengthen the operational policies of the DFC to enable compliance with GCF accreditation requirements. The project outputs will include the following:

1. Investment Management Policy;
2. Asset and Liability Committee;
3. Environmental and Social Management System;
4. Internal Audit Policy and Procedures;
5. Procurement Policy and Procedures; and
6. Communication Policy.

Operating as a quasi-government institution since 1973, the DFC can deploy and effectively manage gender-responsive climate finance, and form effective bridges between the GCF (and other similar institutions) and the private sector. This is in keeping with its objective of stimulating green and inclusive growth. The DFC has knowledge regarding basic fiduciary criteria with a robust organisational structure in place, including established financial control procedures. As Belize’ only development bank, the DFC is highly relevant as a vehicle to foster economic development through providing access for development credit and technical assistance to the private sector. The GOBZ has therefore, prioritised DFC for accreditation to the GCF.