Commonwealth Investment Network builds on its first cohort with an open investment-readiness programme for climate-positive businesses across the Commonwealth

London, 19 October 2026. The Commonwealth Investment Network (CIN) today opened its Investment Readiness Programme to eligible climate-positive businesses and projects across the Commonwealth. The programme is open to those seeking all forms of funding, from grants and philanthropic capital through to concessional and blended finance, debt and equity. The programme builds on the CIN's first accelerator cohort, led by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and Financial Innovation for Impact (Fii) and focused on Pacific and Caribbean small island states, moving from a selected group of seven climate businesses to a self-serve model open to every eligible applicant from today.

The CIN's first cohort, which ran between December 2025 and March 2026, drew 136 applications from 17 Pacific and Caribbean small island states. The seven businesses selected each received over 50 hours of tailored mentorship and presented to investors at the CIN Showcase and Summit in London, with funding mobilised for cohort businesses and a 100% recommendation rate from participants. The new programme takes what worked in the cohort model and makes it available at scale, opening the same support to businesses across the Commonwealth's 56 member states.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) remain at the heart of the programme, building on the lessons of the first cohort and recognising the distinct barriers island economies face in reaching capital.

Through this programme, any eligible climate-positive business or project that applies completes a readiness assessment and receives a readiness roadmap. The roadmap shows where it stands on the investment-readiness pathway and which tools and guidance will help close its priority gaps. Mentorship is targeted at those closer to raising capital. Investment promotion agencies and partner institutions receive the same resources free of charge, alongside a filterable dashboard to monitor the readiness of their pipeline of businesses and projects seeking funding.

The application, assessment and roadmap are delivered on the digital platform by Earth Collective, a company based in Canada and Australia whose product lets programmes like the CIN run their own investment-readiness pipelines, from application through to investor-readiness.

“Closing the climate finance gap across the Commonwealth requires a systems-level approach that goes beyond the cohort model. It means building the capacity to support climate-positive businesses and projects at scale, and strengthening the local institutions that can help them navigate the path to finance. Through the Commonwealth Investment Network, we're working with partners to make practical, investor-informed support accessible, while creating opportunities for knowledge sharing and peer learning across the Commonwealth. The ambition is to create a model that can be delivered and sustained over the long term,” said Lana Baker-Cowling, Programme Manager for the Commonwealth Investment Network at Financial Innovation for Impact.

“Most climate-positive businesses and projects across the Commonwealth find it hard to secure funding, and readiness is a big part of why. Founders often can't see which gaps are holding them back, so they approach funders before they're ready,” said Anthony Moorhouse, co-founder of Earth Collective. “We're helping the CIN turn a programme for seven companies into infrastructure for 56 countries. Every applicant gets a clear picture of where they stand and what to fix next, and the agencies and funders supporting them get a consistent picture of readiness across their pipeline.”

Businesses and projects across all Commonwealth nations can apply directly, or through their national investment promotion agency, at app.earthcollective.io/cin. Applications are rolling, and the first set of applicants will be accepted in early November and will form part of the CIN’s spotlight at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, 1–4 November 2026.