A. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES I. Project Background The International Finance Corporation (IFC); the private sector arm of the World Bank Group (WBG); fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment; mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets; and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and public entities. In particular; IFC focuses on accelerating an inclusive transition to low-carbon; resilient growth that is focused on people; jobs and long-lasting industrial progress. As a matter of fact; it has committed to aligning 85% of its new investment projects with the objectives of the Paris Agreement starting July 1; 2023; and 100% of these investments starting July 1; 2025[1].IFC positions itself as a leading global development institution capable of creating bankable climate projects by blending public and private capital to make investments viable. Additionally; IFC develops mechanisms that enable institutional investors to support impactful climate solutions at scale. This approach is increasingly essential; as 80-90% of the climate finance needed in emerging markets is expected to come from the private sector. Additionally; IFC increasingly embeds wider ¡°green¡± topics in their overall approach to sustainable finance; with additional environmental priorities beyond climate mitigation and adaptation; such as blue finance; nature-based solutions... Within IFC; the Financial Institution Group (FIG) has a goal to prioritize work in the financial institutions (FIs) sector; leveraging the role of FIs as a as transmission belt for all other sectors. FIG helps expand access to finance for millions of individuals and MSMEs and mobilizes investment into critical sectors of the economy through its integrated investment; advisory; and upstream offerings. Through its partnerships with commercial banks; non-banking financial institutions; digital finance providers; and capital markets vehicles; FIG is an engine of growth across sectors that have the greatest development impact; including but not limited to Climate and Green Finance; Banking on Women; MSMEs; Housing Finance; and Insurance.In line with IFC commitment vs. the Paris Agreement; FIG focuses on investing directly in and partnering with financial institutions in climate-smart sectors all over the world to reduce GHG emissions; support adaptation to climate change; and increasingly embed risk management and innovation in additional climate-related and environmental (¡°green¡±) themes. In that context; FIG is putting a particular focus on Africa; likely one of the world regions most impacted by climate and environmental (C&E) challenges; as most African countries combine a high vulnerability with limited capabilities to tackle related challenges. As a consequence; bridging the gap between climate finance needs and current volumes appears as a pressing priority for the continent; with a $2.5 trillion expected gap between the forecasted demand for climate finance as gathered from country-level National Determined Contributions (NDCs) and expected climate finance supply. This gap is very variable by country; with climate finance volumes mainly driven by the country market maturity; which is very diverse across the continent. Thus; most of the volumes are so far focused on a limited number of countries; with major gaps to be addressed in lower maturity geographies in the years to come. However; the actual potential for climate finance; both supply and demand; remains partly unknown given insufficient reliable market data for those countries. It is even harder to assess the actual potential for green finance more broadly; including blue (¡°water¡±) and nature-focused finance as well as opportunities across the value chain; including SMEs; with scarce and uncertain data continent-wide.Assessing the potential for green finance as a whole is also very dependent on various economic sectors; pushing for a sectoral approach in market assessment. For instance; each country has to balance between climate mitigation (E.g.; investing in renewable energy to improve energy access and reduce dependence on fossil fuel; while improving energy efficiency and renewable energy use in target sectors; such as manufacturing and building sectors); climate adaptation (E.g.; climate smart agriculture; water management; climate resilient infrastructure; etc.); and other potential environmental priorities; such as investing in oceans and water infrastructure (i.e.; blue finance as a subset of green); and nature finance.FIG has been playing a critical role in improving access to green products and solutions for businesses and individuals by helping financial institutions through investment and advisory services. It supports local banks and non-bank financial institutions to develop relevant green financing products and solutions; tailored to country and sectoral needs. Loo