The Climate Finance Accelerator’s Pakistan cohort held a webinar with six leading investors and financiers as part of its preparation for the upcoming CFA Pakistan Investor Roadshow, giving participating companies direct exposure to the kind of feedback and expectations they are likely to face when pitching to potential financiers. The session was moderated by CFA financial expert Sara Lemniei and opened with remarks from Imtiaz Saithna, Country Director at British International Investment, who said capital needs to move faster into emerging markets by mobilizing both domestic and international sources of funding.
The panel brought together representatives from institutions spanning credit guarantees, commercial banking, climate finance coordination, and development finance, including Ammar Habib Khan of the National Credit Guarantee Company, Salman Ahmed of Bank of Punjab, Kashmala Kakakhel of the Climate Resource Coordination Centre, Sahar Etezaz of IFC, and Sidra A. Dagha of Bank Alfalah. Their combined presence gave the cohort perspective from across different types of capital providers, each of which evaluates investment readiness through a somewhat different lens depending on whether they are extending credit guarantees, commercial loans, or direct equity-style financing.
Panelists shared practical guidance on what companies need to demonstrate to be considered investment ready, pointing to clean governance structures, a clear commercial case that stands alongside the climate rationale for a project, and a solid understanding of which financing instrument suits a company’s specific stage of growth. That last point reflects a common gap among early-stage climate ventures, where founders often approach investors with a single financing ask that may not match what a lender or investor is actually positioned to offer, whether that is grant funding, concessional debt, guarantees, or commercial capital.
The Climate Finance Accelerator thanked the panelists for their time and acknowledged the Pakistan cohort’s continued commitment to developing carbon-reducing, investment-ready solutions. No specific date was given for the CFA Pakistan Investor Roadshow itself, though the webinar was framed as direct preparation for that event, with the cohort expected to apply the feedback shared during the session as they refine their pitches ahead of engaging investors more formally at the roadshow.
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