Welcome to the FiCS Lab

Finance in Common (FiCS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) have partnered to operationalize the FiCS Financial Innovation Lab with CPI as its secretariat. In September 2023, FiCS announced, the creation of a “Financial Innovation Lab” in its final communiqué from the 2023 FiCS Summit”. The vision is to bring together public development banks (PDBs) and experts around an action-oriented platform to accelerate the implementation of climate finance and the 2030 SDG agenda.

FiCS Lab Incubator: Cycle 2 Call for Submissions Are Now Open

FiCS Lab Incubator: Cycle 2 Call for Submissions Are Now Open

The FiCS Lab invites interested public development banks and their development partners to apply for Cycle 2 of the FiCS Lab Incubator. The Call for Proposals is now open through the FiCS Lab Incubator Submission Portal and will run from September 8 to December 5, 2025.

The Incubator is looking for proposals on financial instruments that target climate finance in emerging markets and developing economies, and that demonstrate innovation, actionability, and catalytic potential.

Interested applicants are encouraged to review the FiCS Lab Incubator Guidelines, which covers eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, information on financial and technical support, and Incubator timeline. A PDF of the application is also available for reference. 

Interested applicants also can find answers to frequently asked questions in the FiCS Lab FAQs, and are encouraged to reach out to the FiCS Lab Secretariat at ficslab@cpiglobal.org with any questions and to request a meeting with the team to discuss specific questions and/or concerns.

Additional information is available in a recent webinar, with the recording available here and the accompanying slide deck.

The application deadline for Cycle 2 is December 5, 2025 at 11:59 PM US Pacific Time.

Explore the FiCS Lab Incubators Cycle 1 Projects

Development Bank of Southern Africa 

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), in partnership with South-African based Promethium will conduct critical assessments to establish a voluntary carbon market platform in South Africa, addressing local needs with integrity and existing barriers to effective market development. Learn more here

Uganda Development Bank  

The Uganda Development Bank (UDBL) is tackling currency risk challenges by partnering with researchers from the University of Leeds and City St George’s, University of London to develop a novel risk distribution instrument to reduce the risk of local currency lending through its Climate Finance Facility. Learn more here

Development Bank of Minas Gerais

The Development Bank of Minas Gerais (BDMG) is designing a guarantee facility to provide concessional capital to support regenerative agriculture (RA) uptake. Working with local partners GAAS, Sitawi, and WayCarbon, BDMG’s facility will include a credit line, credit guarantee fund, technical assistance, and an income support fund. Learn more here  

FICS LAB WORKING GROUPS

FICS LAB WORKING GROUPS

FiCS Lab Working Groups provide a dedicated, PDB-led space for knowledge sharing and policy dialogue. Meeting virtually once a month, working groups hear insights from external experts, share their lessons learned, and develop guiding materials for the FiCS membership. Working groups for 2025 will cover: 

WHAT IS THE FICS LAB?

WHAT IS THE FICS LAB?

The mission of the FiCS Lab is to foster innovation and collaboration among PDBs in accelerating climate finance efforts, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies. 

To achieve this, the FiCS Lab focuses on three pillars:

  • Pillar 1: Sharing and advancing knowledge and best practices on financial innovation gaps, initiatives, and implementation. This will be achieved by producing issues briefs, blogs, and disseminating knowledge products.
  • Pillar 2: Facilitating structured dialogues to standardize or harmonize approaches by creating m workstreams, workplans and any relevant governance arrangements.
  • Pillar 3: Supporting incubation of specific financial innovations in institutions that are ready to act but need technical and/or financial support.

Contact us

Contact us

Do you have any questions? 

Feel free to contact us: FiCSLab@cpiglobal.org