Development Finance Institutions Meet to Advance Urban Climate Finance

As cities and local governments face growing climate challenges, the demand for finance is rising fast. Many are eager to turn their needs into projects that banks and investors can fund. Developing bankable, climate resilient projects and connecting institutional capacity with practical urban infrastructure financing are now priorities for building more sustainable cities. This is where NUCA comes in, helping DFIs build the capacity to channel climate finance to cities.

The PSC meeting was designed to take stock of NUCA’s progress, strengthen collaboration among consortium members and draw practical lessons to inform the programme’s implementation. It gathered NUCA’s institutional partners from Africa and Latin America, together with city networks and climate finance platforms.

In their opening remarks, the representatives of PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (Persero), also known as PT SMI, Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI), Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and IKI Hub Indonesia highlighted NUCA’s role in advancing urban climate action through institutional capacity development, technical support and the exchange of practical experience among DFIs. They also welcomed the opportunity to link international cooperation with implementation on the ground, building on existing partnerships.

Karin Allgoewer, Commission Manager of IKI Hub Indonesia, presented NUCA as a concrete example of international climate cooperation supported by Germany through IKI. Since cooperation between Germany and Indonesia under IKI began in 2008, 141 projects have been implemented in Indonesia, and 46 remain active.

Sandrine Boucher, AFD Country Director in Indonesia, underlined the value of long-standing partnerships. AFD and PT SMI have worked together since 2015 through financing facilities and technical assistance supporting infrastructure and green investment as well as supporting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Indonesia, a foundation that NUCA now builds on. The long-term partnership between AFD and PT SMI reflects the ever-closer relations between France and Indonesia, following the elevation of bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by President Emmanuel Macron and President Prabowo Subianto in Paris on 28 May 2026.

As a consortium member and NUCA’s implementing partner in Indonesia, PT SMI emphasised the programme’s relevance to its efforts to integrate climate considerations into its financing, identify institutional needs and explore practical climate finance tools. NUCA also builds on PT SMI’s existing engagement with local governments, through feasibility studies and the upcoming Coaching Clinic, which support the preparation of urban climate projects and the search for suitable financing options.

The programme continued after the PSC meeting with peer learning workshops and site visits in Bogor and Jakarta on 6 and 7 October, where participating institutions exchange practical experience on results-based financing.