GCPF India Insights Workshop

From 5-7 May 2025, the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) hosted 10 non-banking financial corporations (NBFCs) from India to discuss relevant market trends for Climate Finance in the local market. The two-day workshop focussed on regulatory developments, practical ways to activate green lending and support the fast-growing Electric Vehicle (EV) and Solar Photovoltaic Technology (Solar PV) financing opportunities, and the role NBFCs can play in providing access to such products, particularly for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs).

The workshop was an exchange of information, experience, and expertise amongst the GCPF investment manager, NBFCs and regional experts on key topics such as designing green lending strategies and products, aligning internal operations, and incentivizing sales staff to implement green strategies. Participants were also keen on developing and refining their E&S risk management systems to fit the NBFC context while zooming in on areas such as road safety training.

Looking at opportunities and challenges: The two-day programme highlighted the opportunities and challenges that NBFCs face in the local market when it comes to

building a climate finance portfolio. Participants kickstarted the lively discussions by reflecting and sharing their climate finance journey and strategy development. Through these exercises, several common themes surfaced, such as (i) the need to screen and review current loan portfolios to identify the ‘low-hanging fruits’ that are most readily accessible for NBFCs and can result in the greatest climate impact; and (ii) key challenges faced by NBFCs in this process, including the lack of capacity and tools to measure actual impact of their green loan portfolio (in terms of energy savings or CO2 emissions reduction), reaffirming the necessity for long-term partnership with an international investor like GCPF that continues to provide technical assistance and capacity building to support and bridge these gaps.

Inclusive partnership and exchange: Building on past regional workshops held in Mumbai, Lima, and Tbilisi, this latest gathering continued GCPF’s efforts to foster peer learning and exchange on innovation strategies across key sectors. Participants actively shared how they are taking advantage of the various and growing opportunities.

Gagan Aggarwal, CFO- Clix Capital – With the growth of the health sector in India expecting to triple, Clix shared strategies and challenges. Clix’s strong foothold in healthcare financing has enabled them to support thousands of individuals and institutions in accessing quality medical care. Now, through their partnership with the GCPF, Clix is actively identifying opportunities to green their healthcare financing portfolio. “For us, the sessions were highly insightful, and the platform provided a keen opportunity for knowledge sharing and idea exchange. The workshop was not only enriching but also inspiring. It provided us with valuable perspectives and reaffirmed our sense of purpose in the work we do together with you.”

Gaurav Shome, Annapurna Finance (P) Ltd – working towards social and economic empowerment of MSMEs and driving solar financing by providing access to more than 2500 households by the end of 2025. “For us, the workshop was highly informative and engaging. Every session felt meaningful, offering clear insights into the green finance space in India. It was inspiring to see how global best practices are shaping sustainable finance, and the discussions gave us a much better understanding of where the sector is headed. Overall, the workshop left us feeling informed, encouraged, and optimistic about the future of green finance.”

In keeping with GCPF’s hands-on approach, the agenda included interactive sessions and breakout discussions, allowing participants to learn from each other, especially on common themes seen across NBFCs in India, including operational and practical challenges to implementing green lending strategies, how to incentivize staff to ensure successful outcomes, and recognizing the key drivers and opportunities in new areas such as medical equipment financing, EV and solar loans.

Dedicated sessions on EV adoption and market opportunities:  EVs emerged as a key area of interest among participants. The workshop featured dedicated sessions on EV adoption, market trends, opportunities, and challenges. To deepen the understanding of this growing market, Mr. Kaushik Madhavan, Head of the EV vertical at Markets & Markets, was invited to share his expert insights. He was joined by representatives from partner NBFCs, Mr. Rishikesh Pany from Annapurna and Mr. Satbir Singh from WheelsEMI, who shared their experiences in developing and launching EV financing products. Highlights from the session included emerging trends in battery technology, vehicle tracking systems, innovative business models like battery swapping, and partnerships with retailers for buy-back arrangements are some of the insights that participants found highly valuable.

Leveraging responsAbility’s Climate finance platform: responsAbility continues to leverage its climate finance platform to foster knowledge-sharing among investees across its managed funds. As part of this effort, Mr. Nishant Sood, CEO of Candi Solar India, an investee from another responsAbility-managed climate fund, was invited to share his experience in financing rooftop solar solutions for MSMEs in India. Having encountered challenges similar to those faced by NBFCs, Candi’s insights on overcoming barriers and building a strong MSME solar portfolio were highly valuable to participants. Adding to these insights, Mr. Gaurav Shome from Annapurna provided a detailed perspective on product development and strategies for targeting MSMEs for rooftop solar adoption. A key takeaway was the importance of clearly positioning the value proposition of energy cost savings to end borrowers, rather than marketing it primarily as a loan product, to scale the portfolio effectively.

Building awareness on road safety: With road safety emerging as a key concern for

NBFCs with extensive field operations, a dedicated session was held to underscore the importance of safe travel practices.  An external expert shared practical strategies to encourage safer driving among frontline staff. The session resonated with participants and was widely appreciated.

GCPF extends a heartfelt thank you to all partner institutions, speakers, and facilitators for their generous contribution and proactive participation. The 2.5-day workshop reflected the true ‘peer- learning’ spirit and demonstrates how GCPF and its partner institutions continue to learn from each other. The next peer-learning workshop is scheduled for September in Peru, where Latin American partner institutions will also have an opportunity to strengthen their community of practice.