About This Fund
GEF South Asia Growth Fund III is a climate-focused impact private equity fund managed by GEF Capital Partners, LLC, a Virginia-based firm founded in 2018 through a spinout from Global Environment Fund, a pioneer in sustainability and resource-efficiency investing since 1990. The fund targets middle-market companies in South Asia—primarily India—that provide solutions enabling climate mitigation, climate adaptation, circular economy, and resource efficiency. With a target size of USD 300–400 million and a final close of approximately USD 440 million (March 2025), Fund III is GEF Capital's largest vehicle to date, raising beyond its initial target and reflecting strong institutional demand for climate-aligned private equity in South Asian emerging markets.
The fund deploys USD 20–40 million per investment across 9–12 portfolio companies, concentrating on nine thematic areas: renewable energy value chain, energy efficiency, food and water security, resource and waste recovery, mobility, smart cities and green buildings, technological and digital solutions, and low-carbon transition. GEF Capital's Mumbai-based team, led by Founding Partner Raj Pai—who joined the predecessor Global Environment Fund in 2008—brings deep origination relationships and local execution capability in India. The fund is structured as a limited partnership under Ontario, Canada law, with a Luxembourg feeder fund for European institutional investors, and an open mandate for opportunistic co-investments in Southeast Asia.
Fund III's LP base includes leading development finance institutions: the International Finance Corporation (IFC, USD 40 million equity plus USD 40 million co-investment envelope), the European Investment Bank (EIB, USD 40 million), British International Investment (BII), and Swedfund (USD 25 million). This roster reflects the fund's positioning at the intersection of development finance and climate investing. GEF Capital's predecessor South Asia Growth Fund II (approximately USD 193 million, 2018 vintage) established the strategy's track record and formed the foundation for Fund III's expanded thematic scope and target fund size.