What project preparation services are covered by ICEF grants?
ICEF will support Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) project developers/enterprises for essential fundraising expenses that they may not otherwise have the financial resources to cover.
The ICEF grants may be used to cover the costs of financial advisory/investment banking services that are critical for raising equity or debt financing from both domestic and international financiers.
What is the process for grant approval and who is involved?
- CPI will conduct a preliminary screening of submitted proposals based on a predetermined assessment framework and recommend it to the Advisory Committee.
- Grants will be awarded to the applicants as approved by the Advisory Committee.
- Grant awardees can select from a list of prequalified financial advisors, The selected financial advisor will assist the awardee in the fundraising activities.
- CPI will directly pay a service fee to the financial advisors as per milestones achieved.
What is the criteria for grant approval?
Applications will be evaluated on the following basis:
- Experience of the applicant company, its management and team in operating and developing DRE or related businesses/projects.
- Feasibility of the business model and its potential for attracting investments/ bankability for financing.
- Past operating and financial performance of the company.
- Development impact as per the objectives of the program.
- Promoter track record.
What is the cycle of the grant process and how long does it take?
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Typically, it may take between 3-4 months from the date of submission for the application review process to be awarded the grant.
What is the maximum grant provided by ICEF?
Grants awarded per beneficiary are capped at USD 150,000.
However, grant size could vary depending on the specific requirement of the project as identified during the evaluation process.
How are financial advisors assigned to a grant awardee?
CPI has empanelled qualified financial advisors for the program. The grant awardees could engage with these empanelled financial advisors for fundraising.
What kind of businesses or projects will be supported?
ICEF supports diverse applications of distributed renewable energy (DRE) such as e-mobility, EV charging infrastructure, rooftop solar, energy storage, hydro-micro/pico, DRE aggregation platforms, and cooling solutions.
