EIB Joins LeapFrog to Drive Climate Innovation Across Africa and Asia with $60M Commitment

EIB Joins LeapFrog to Drive Climate Innovation Across Africa and Asia with $60M Commitment

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank has pledged $60 million to support LeapFrog Investments’ Climate Investment Strategy, a fund aiming to deploy $500 million for green technologies across Africa and Asia. Joined by partners such as IFC, Temasek, and SIFEM, the strategy will invest in sectors like clean mobility, rooftop solar, and sustainable cooking. Highlighted during the World Bank Spring Meetings, this collaboration seeks to lower emissions in rapidly growing economies while fostering inclusive, sustainable development.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 23-Apr-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), operating as the EU’s financial institution through its arm EIB Global, has committed $60 million to LeapFrog Investments’ ambitious Climate Investment Strategy. This funding aligns with LeapFrog’s mission to unlock $500 million for the deployment of clean technologies that improve access to green energy, mobility, housing, and food across Africa and Asia.

The pledge was announced on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings in Washington and marks a collaborative push involving other prominent backers, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Singapore’s Temasek, and the Swiss Development Finance Institution (SIFEM). The initiative aims to curb rising greenhouse gas emissions in fast-growing regions where sustainable infrastructure remains scarce.

The need for climate-focused investments is urgent. Greenhouse gas emissions from consumers in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa make up a quarter of the global total, a figure projected to surge to 73% by 2030 if current trends persist. By mobilizing capital for low-carbon solutions, the LeapFrog Climate Investment Strategy is working to reverse that trajectory and support sustainable growth.

One of the strategy’s first beneficiaries is Battery Smart, India’s largest provider of battery-swapping services for electric two- and three-wheelers, a critical sector for reducing urban transport emissions. Additional investments will target clean cooking, solar energy, and other carbon-reducing solutions.

“LeapFrog’s strategy exemplifies how targeted investment can generate impact at scale,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “Our partnership here reflects Europe’s continued climate leadership and our commitment to global sustainable development.”

LeapFrog’s CEO and Founder, Dr. Andy Kuper, emphasized the critical need to bring sustainable tools to the world’s emerging markets: “With four billion consumers in these regions, we face both a challenge and an unprecedented opportunity. The world’s carbon budget hinges on how we support this generational shift.”

The strategy received prominent attention during the World Bank Group and IMF Spring Meetings, highlighting its potential to reshape the landscape of climate investment in the Global South.

About the European Investment Bank Group:

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.

All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of Global Gateway. We aim to support €100 billion of investment by the end of 2027 – around one-third of the overall target of this EU initiative. Within Team Europe, EIB Global fosters strong, focused partnerships alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through our offices across the world. High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

About LeapFrog Investments

LeapFrog invests in healthcare, financial services and climate solutions businesses in high-growth global markets. Its companies deliver distinctive impact and robust returns, growing revenues on average 23% a year. LeapFrog companies now reach 537 million people with essential services in 37 countries. The firm has raised billions of dollars from global institutional investors, including a $500m commitment by Temasek to LeapFrog and its growth equity funds. LeapFrog has twice been ranked by Fortune as one of the top Companies to Change the World, alongside Apple and Novartis, and was named inaugural Pioneer in Impact by the FT and IFC at the Transformational Business Awards.

For more information, go to: www.leapfroginvest.com.

Media contact:

Shirin Wheeler
s.wheeler@eib.org
+32 474 242494

SOURCE: European Investment Bank