The Rio Changemakers opens call to impact funds for first cohort ahead of COP31 launch (EN·FR) opportunity is now inviting impact funds and fund managers investing in climate and nature solutions to join the first cohort of Rio Changemakers, an emerging global marketplace designed to connect capital with credible, locally led environmental projects.
The initiative is being developed by the Government of Luxembourg in partnership with the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) and is described as an AI-enabled, science-guided global marketplace.
The call is open to established impact funds as well as first-time and emerging fund managers that invest in climate and nature solutions across emerging markets and developing economies.
Selected participants will have early access to the Rio Changemakers platform, visibility among investors and capital providers, access to a growing pipeline of climate and nature projects, and an opportunity to help shape the marketplace before its wider launch.
Applications are being reviewed on a rolling basis, with funds encouraged to apply by 26 September 2026 for priority consideration.
Rio Changemakers Impact Funds Call 2026: Overview
Programme: Rio Changemakers
Call Type: Impact Funds Cohort
Organizers: Government of Luxembourg and Global Landscapes Forum
Focus: Climate and Nature Finance
Target Applicants: Established funds, emerging funds, and first-time fund managers
Priority Regions: Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean
Application Review: Rolling basis
Priority Deadline: 26 September 2026
Platform: AI-enabled, science-guided climate and nature investment marketplace
Planned Launch Milestone: COP31, Antalya, Türkiye, November 2026
The call was announced on 31 August 2026.
What Is Rio Changemakers?
Rio Changemakers is a global marketplace being developed to improve how climate and nature projects connect with investors, funds, and other sources of capital.
The platform is intended to help financial actors discover credible projects while also helping locally led climate initiatives become more visible to potential financing partners.
According to the official information, Rio Changemakers combines:
- Artificial intelligence
- Scientific guidance
- Trusted information
- Investor discovery
- Project matching
- Locally led climate action
The marketplace is being developed by the Government of Luxembourg and the Global Landscapes Forum.
Why Rio Changemakers Was Created
One of the problems in climate finance is not simply a lack of capital.
There can also be a disconnect between investors looking for suitable projects and locally led organizations trying to secure funding.
Investors may face difficulties when trying to:
- Find credible projects
- Assess different opportunities
- Compare potential investments
- Evaluate local impact
- Identify projects aligned with investment strategies
At the same time, climate and nature projects may struggle to reach the right financial partners.
Rio Changemakers is intended to help close this gap by creating a marketplace where projects, funds and investors can identify and assess suitable opportunities more efficiently.
Who Can Apply?
The call is open specifically to impact funds.
This includes:
- Established impact funds
- First-time fund managers
- Emerging fund managers
Eligible funds should be investing in climate and nature solutions across emerging markets and developing economies.
This means the opportunity is not primarily designed for NGOs, startups or individual climate projects seeking direct grant funding.
Those applicants were addressed through a separate Rio Changemakers call for projects.
Geographic Priority Areas
The first cohort places priority on funds investing in:
- Africa
- Asia
- The Pacific
- Latin America
- The Caribbean
Funds with investment strategies focused on these regions may therefore have particularly strong alignment with the programme.
Focus on Locally Led Climate Action
The call places significant emphasis on supporting locally led action.
Eligible funds should demonstrate commitment to initiatives involving:
- Indigenous Peoples
- Local communities
- Women-led organizations
- Youth-led organizations
- Grassroots initiatives
This emphasis reflects Rio Changemakers’ goal of ensuring that investment capital reaches credible projects rooted in local communities.
What Selected Funds Will Receive
Selected funds will become some of the first organizations to participate in the Rio Changemakers marketplace.
They will have several opportunities to benefit from early participation.
Greater Visibility Among Investors
Selected funds can increase their visibility among:
- Investors
- Capital providers
- Potential financial partners
This could support their own fundraising and capital-mobilization efforts.
For emerging fund managers in particular, visibility can be an important challenge.
Participation in the first cohort may help selected funds present their investment strategies to a wider financing community.
Access to Climate and Nature Projects
Selected funds will gain early access to a growing pipeline of credible climate and nature projects seeking finance.
This can potentially help participating funds identify projects that align with:
- Investment mandates
- Geographic priorities
- Climate goals
- Biodiversity objectives
- Nature-positive strategies
The platform is therefore intended to benefit both sides of the financing ecosystem.
Fund Profile Creation
Selected participants will be able to create their fund profiles on Rio Changemakers.
These profiles can help communicate:
- Investment strategy
- Target regions
- Financing preferences
- Sector focus
- Capital requirements
- Project preferences
The first cohort will also be able to test the marketplace’s matching and discovery features before broader public use.
Opportunity to Shape the Platform
One of the most distinctive benefits is the opportunity to help shape Rio Changemakers itself.
Selected funds can provide feedback on:
- Information needed to evaluate projects
- Investment criteria
- Marketplace features
- Assessment tools
- Matching processes
- Discovery functionality
This gives early participants an opportunity to influence how the platform supports future climate and nature investment.
What Types of Funds May Be Suitable?
The call may be particularly relevant to impact funds investing in areas such as:
- Climate adaptation
- Climate mitigation
- Biodiversity
- Conservation
- Nature-based solutions
- Sustainable agriculture
- Regenerative agriculture
- Forest restoration
- Sustainable forestry
- Blue carbon
- Water systems
- Renewable natural-resource projects
- Community resilience
- Nature-positive enterprises
However, the official call focuses broadly on climate and nature solutions rather than providing a detailed list of every eligible investment sector.
Applicants should therefore assess their investment strategy against the official criteria.
Emerging and First-Time Fund Managers Are Eligible
A notable feature of the programme is that applicants do not necessarily need to manage long-established funds.
The official announcement specifically includes:
- First-time fund managers
- Emerging fund managers
This could make the opportunity especially useful for new impact investment teams trying to build visibility and partnerships.
Why Fund Managers May Want to Participate
For many impact funds, sourcing investable climate and nature projects can require significant time and resources.
Fund managers often need to identify projects that simultaneously meet:
- Financial criteria
- Environmental standards
- Social safeguards
- Geographic mandates
- Impact objectives
Rio Changemakers aims to make this process more efficient by creating a structured marketplace where investment opportunities can be discovered and compared.
Connection to the Earlier Call for Projects
The call for impact funds follows an earlier call for climate and nature projects launched in July 2026.
The two calls represent different sides of the marketplace.
The project call focused on organizations seeking finance.
The newer call focuses on funds and investors capable of deploying capital.
By bringing both groups together, Rio Changemakers aims to create a functioning climate-finance ecosystem rather than simply a project directory.
COP31 Launch Plans
Rio Changemakers is working toward unveiling its Minimum Viable Product (MVP) at the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP31.
COP31 is scheduled to take place in:
Antalya, Türkiye
in:
November 2026.
The first cohort will therefore play an important role in testing and shaping the platform ahead of this milestone.
How the Marketplace Is Expected to Work
Rio Changemakers is designed to help participants discover and connect around climate-finance opportunities.
For investors and funds, the platform may help improve:
- Project discovery
- Comparison
- Screening
- Investment matching
- Information access
For projects, it aims to improve visibility and access to suitable financing partners.
The first cohort will help test how capital and opportunities are presented, assessed and connected.
Is This a Funding Grant?
No.
This call should not be described as a grant programme.
The opportunity is designed for impact funds seeking to join a climate and nature investment marketplace.
Selected funds may gain:
- Visibility
- Access to projects
- Fundraising exposure
- Marketplace access
- Investor connections
But the official announcement does not state that selected funds will receive a fixed grant or cash award.
This distinction is important for accurate reporting.
Is There a Minimum Fund Size?
The supplied official announcement for this impact-fund call does not state a minimum fund size.
Publishers should therefore avoid automatically applying the USD 1 million minimum fund size from the earlier project-side call to this newer impact-fund call unless the application form or subsequent official guidance confirms it.
The key published eligibility criteria focus on the type of fund, regions of investment and commitment to locally led climate and nature action.
How Applications Are Reviewed
Applications are being reviewed on a:
Rolling basis
This means applications may be assessed as they are submitted.
Funds are encouraged to apply by:
26 September 2026
for priority consideration.
Applying before the priority deadline may therefore be beneficial.
How to Prepare a Strong Application
Potential applicants should prepare a clear description of their fund and investment strategy.
Explain Your Investment Thesis
Applicants should be able to explain:
- What climate or nature challenges they target
- Which sectors they invest in
- What type of capital they deploy
- Which markets they serve
Define Geographic Focus
Funds investing in the programme’s priority regions should make this clear.
These regions are:
- Africa
- Asia
- Pacific
- Latin America
- Caribbean
Demonstrate Commitment to Local Leadership
Applicants should explain how their investment model supports:
- Local entrepreneurs
- Indigenous Peoples
- Community organizations
- Women-led enterprises
- Youth-led organizations
Explain Capital Deployment
Fund managers should clearly describe how they identify, assess and finance suitable projects.
Demonstrate Impact
Where possible, applicants should quantify outcomes such as:
- Emissions reduced
- Land restored
- Biodiversity protected
- Communities supported
- Jobs created
- Capital mobilized
Opportunities for African Impact Funds
Africa is one of the priority regions for the first cohort.
This makes the programme potentially relevant to funds investing in:
- African climate startups
- Renewable natural-resource projects
- Climate-smart agriculture
- Sustainable forestry
- Nature restoration
- Water systems
- Climate adaptation
- Biodiversity enterprises
Funds supporting African locally led initiatives may therefore find strong alignment with the programme.
Opportunities for Emerging Fund Managers
The explicit inclusion of emerging fund managers may be particularly important.
New funds often face challenges such as:
- Limited investor visibility
- Smaller professional networks
- Difficulty sourcing projects
- Building fundraising credibility
- Limited deal-flow access
Rio Changemakers could potentially help address some of these challenges through early platform participation.
Women-Led and Youth-Led Investment
The programme also emphasizes support for funds committed to locally led action involving women and young people.
Fund managers with portfolios focused on women-led and youth-led climate enterprises should highlight that connection when applying.
Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
The call specifically references initiatives led by or connected with Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
Funds with investment models that protect community rights and strengthen locally controlled solutions may therefore have strong strategic alignment.
About the Global Landscapes Forum
The Global Landscapes Forum describes itself as a major knowledge-led platform focused on integrated land use.
Its work supports global sustainability frameworks and promotes landscapes that are:
- Productive
- Prosperous
- Equitable
- Resilient
GLF is led by Landscape Alliance – CIFOR & ICRAF in action, together with partners including UNEP, the World Bank and other charter members.
About Rio Changemakers
Rio Changemakers is officially described as an AI-enabled, science-guided global marketplace developed by the Government of Luxembourg in partnership with GLF.
The marketplace connects:
- Investors
- Financial institutions
- Corporations
with locally led climate and nature projects, including nature-based and nature-positive solutions.
How to Apply
Interested funds should complete the official Rio Changemakers application.
Before submitting:
- Review the eligibility criteria.
- Prepare an overview of the fund.
- Describe the investment strategy.
- Explain geographic focus.
- Highlight climate and nature investments.
- Demonstrate support for locally led projects.
- Explain fundraising and capital-mobilization objectives.
- Review all submitted information.
- Apply before the priority deadline.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Application Deadline
Funds are encouraged to apply by:
26 September 2026
for priority consideration.
Because reviews are rolling, applicants should consider submitting earlier rather than waiting until the final day.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Rio Changemakers impact funds call?
It is an invitation for impact funds and fund managers to join the first cohort of the Rio Changemakers climate and nature marketplace.
Who can apply?
Established impact funds, emerging fund managers and first-time fund managers can apply if they meet the investment-focus requirements.
What sectors should applicants invest in?
Funds should invest in climate and nature solutions.
Which regions receive priority?
Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Can first-time fund managers apply?
Yes.
Can emerging funds apply?
Yes.
Does the programme provide a grant?
The official call does not advertise a fixed grant payment. It offers participation in the Rio Changemakers investment marketplace.
What will selected funds receive?
Benefits include increased investor visibility, access to climate and nature projects, fund profile creation, testing marketplace features and helping shape the platform.
Is there a minimum fund size?
The supplied official announcement does not specify one for this call.
When is COP31?
The initiative plans to unveil its MVP around COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026.
What is the application deadline?
Funds are encouraged to apply by 26 September 2026 for priority consideration.
Final Thoughts
The Rio Changemakers opens a call to impact funds for the first cohort ahead of the COP31 launch (EN·FR), representing an opportunity for climate and nature investment funds to become early participants in a new global marketplace connecting capital with credible locally led projects.
The initiative is particularly relevant to funds investing across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Established funds, first-time fund managers and emerging fund managers are all invited to participate, provided they invest in climate and nature solutions and support locally led action.
Selected funds could benefit from:
- Greater visibility with investors
- Improved fundraising exposure
- Early access to project pipelines
- Marketplace profile creation
- Testing matching tools
- Direct input into marketplace development
The first cohort will also contribute to shaping Rio Changemakers as the platform moves toward its COP31 launch in Antalya, Türkiye, in November 2026.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with a priority deadline of 26 September 2026.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for informational and opportunity-awareness purposes. We are not affiliated with Rio Changemakers, the Global Landscapes Forum, Landscape Alliance, or the Government of Luxembourg, and we do not participate in application assessment, investment decisions, or fund selection.
Applicants should verify current requirements and submit information through the official Rio Changemakers application process.
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