Call for Proposals: Blue Catalyst Fund

Deadline: 01-Oct-2026

The Blue Catalyst Fund is inviting applications from organisations developing high-quality mangrove conservation and restoration projects around the world. The fund provides milestone-based funding, technical assistance, capacity building, and transaction advisory support to help projects overcome development challenges and become ready for investment. The programme is designed for projects that aim to generate revenues from verified carbon units and need financial and technical support to progress toward implementation.

About the Blue Catalyst Fund

The Blue Catalyst Fund was established to address the lack of suitable support available to mangrove conservation and restoration projects. Many blue carbon projects face high development costs, technical complexity, and limited access to appropriate finance. These challenges can prevent promising projects from progressing to implementation or becoming investment-ready. Led by Fair Carbon and Finance Earth, the Fund brings together technical, financial, and transaction advisory expertise. Specialist partners including TerraCarbon, Silvestrum, and Nika provide tailored support to projects globally. What Is the Purpose of the Fund? The primary objective of the Blue Catalyst Fund is to accelerate the development of high-quality blue carbon projects. The Fund provides end-to-end support through: - Technical assistance. - Capacity building. - Milestone-based funding. - Technical assessments. - Project design support. - Community engagement support. - Financial modelling. - Transaction advisory. The support is tailored to the development stage and specific needs of each project. Long-Term Goals of the Blue Catalyst Fund By 2035, the Blue Catalyst Fund aims to: - Protect or restore 150,000 hectares of coastal and marine ecosystems. - Avoid or remove 32 million tons of CO2e. - Unlock $275 million in private investment for coastal ecosystems and communities. These goals reflect the Fund’s focus on combining conservation and restoration with investment readiness and private-sector financing. How Much Funding Is Available? The Fund provides different levels of support depending on the project’s development stage. Pre-Feasibility Support Projects at the pre-feasibility stage can receive a support package of approximately: - $85,000–$100,000 Post-Feasibility Support Projects that have progressed beyond feasibility can receive approximately: - $480,000–$520,000 The overall support package is generally divided between: - Approximately 35% direct cash funding. - Approximately 65% in-kind technical assistance. Payments are released when the project successfully completes agreed milestones. How Does the Funding Work? Funding is provided as an unsecured contingent loan. The Fund does not take equity in supported projects. Repayment is required only if the project successfully secures follow-on investment for implementation. This structure is designed to provide early-stage financial and technical support while linking repayment to the project’s ability to secure subsequent investment. What Can the Funding Support? The support package can be used for a range of activities required to advance mangrove conservation and restoration projects.

Eligible activities include:

- Project design. - Technical assessments. - Community engagement. - Financial modelling. - Transaction advisory. - Other development activities required to advance investment readiness. The combination of cash funding and technical assistance allows projects to address both financial and technical barriers. Who Can Apply? The Blue Catalyst Fund is open globally to eligible projects focused on mangrove conservation or restoration.

Projects must:

- Focus on mangrove conservation or restoration. - Aim to generate revenues from verified carbon units. - Meet the Fund’s minimum size or carbon volume requirements. - Be located outside sanctioned or high-risk jurisdictions. - Be at either the pre-feasibility or post-feasibility stage. Projects can apply for support according to their current development stage and specific development needs. Minimum Project Size and Carbon Thresholds Eligible projects must meet approximately one of the following thresholds: - 1,000 hectares for restoration projects. - 5,000 hectares for conservation projects. - 1 million VCUs. These thresholds help the Fund focus its support on projects with the potential to develop significant blue carbon and ecosystem benefits. Pre-Feasibility and Post-Feasibility Projects The Fund supports projects at two key development stages. Pre-feasibility projects can seek support for early development activities needed to establish project viability and progress toward feasibility. Post-feasibility projects can receive larger support packages to help advance project development, strengthen investment readiness, and prepare for follow-on investment and implementation. The support provided is tailored to the project’s stage and development requirements. Technical and Transaction Advisory Support A key feature of the Blue Catalyst Fund is that support is not limited to direct financial assistance. Approximately 65% of the support package is provided through in-kind technical assistance. This can help projects address technical, financial, and transaction-related challenges. Specialist expertise is brought together to help projects move through development stages and become better positioned to attract investment. Geographic Eligibility Applications are open globally, but certain jurisdictions are excluded. Projects are not eligible if they are located in: - Jurisdictions subject to Financial Action Task Force sanctions. - Jurisdictions with Level 4 travel advisories from the United States or United Kingdom. - Other sanctioned or high-risk jurisdictions covered by the Fund’s eligibility requirements. Applicants should ensure that their project location meets the geographic requirements before applying. Key Facts About the Blue Ca