Matanataki Pacific Fund 1

Pacific small island developing states are vulnerable to climate change, and coral reef degradation threatens food security, livelihoods and coastal protection. Small businesses that deliver adaptation benefits struggle to raise commercial finance, because of high perceived risk, small deal sizes, limited exit options and a lack of patient capital.

Matanataki Pacific Fund 1 aims to invest patient equity and quasi-equity in around 15 to 20 locally owned small businesses and community-owned cooperatives in Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu. It will link portfolio companies across four sectors to strengthen local supply chains: waste management and recycling, regenerative agriculture, sustainable fisheries and low-impact tourism. The fund will give active support before and after investment, and a donor-funded technical assistance facility will help businesses prepare for investment. The fund aims to make women central beneficiaries and decision-makers.

Matanataki is the first dedicated adaptation-focused private equity fund in the Pacific. Self-liquidating instruments will be the default for every investment, so ownership and wealth stay with Pacific founders and communities, supporting locally led climate action. The fund aims to show that this approach is commercially viable. It is submitted under GCF's project-specific assessment approach.