ESGSeptember 14, 2023

Mercer Launches Catalytic Investment Exchange to Support Energy Transition Projects

The project will bring together deal sponsors and direct investors to navigate investments.

Reported by Matt Toledo

Mercer has launched an event called the Catalytic Investment Exchange that it says will connect institutional investors and deal sponsors to conduct due diligence and allow investors to discover potential projects and investments in energy transition.

The exchange is intended to further enable energy transition and climate projects in emerging and frontier markets, where capital for climate investments may not be as accessible. Mercer’s announcement stated that the exchange will help connect investors with projects they may not have come across otherwise.

“The CIX has the transformative potential to bring more global visibility to frequently overlooked emerging and frontier market investment opportunities, provide greater investor transparency into private market direct deal pipelines, and potentially drive more efficient sourcing and due diligence processes to accelerate capital allocation to bankable deals,” wrote Rich Nuzum, Mercer’s chief investment strategist, in a LinkedIn post.

The first round of deals using the CIX will focus on energy transition projects in Africa. Mercer will hold a “pilot” event September 20 through 22, hosted in New York City by parent company Marsh McLennan and timed to coincide with Climate Week NYC, which runs September 17 through 24.

The hope is that the exchange will continue in the future with the possibility of additional in-person events where sponsors and investors could meet, according to Mercer.

“We want to bring visibility to overlooked emerging and frontier market investment opportunities and seek to drive impactful climate action,” said Max Messervy, Mercer’s head of sustainable investment for the Americas, in a LinkedIn post.

Sponsors can register on Mercer’s website. Investors can search through deals on Mercer’s platform and conduct due diligence on projects in which they are interested. When investors identify interesting projects, they can then schedule a meeting with the deal sponsor.