KLIMAready x NAFIM: Building Bridges Between the Real Economy and Sustainable Finance

Collaboration at the Interface Between the Real Economy and Finance

Companies implementing sustainable transformation projects often face a central challenge: investment requirements are high, while the available funding and financing options are diverse – but not always easy to navigate. This is precisely where the collaboration within the KLIMAready cross-cluster project and with the NAFIM Service Centre comes in.

At FCH, we bring the financial sector and the real economy together – particularly through close cooperation with Hamburg’s other industry clusters. The aim is to provide companies with guidance, strengthen exchange between relevant stakeholders and identify concrete pathways for financing sustainable investments.

Sustainable Finance Is Becoming Increasingly Important for SMEs

Whether energy efficiency, the expansion of renewable energy, climate-friendly production processes, new mobility solutions or adaptation to climate risks: many companies will need to make substantial investments in the coming years. Small and medium-sized enterprises in particular face the question of how transformation measures can be planned and financed in an economically viable way.

Sustainable finance is therefore becoming increasingly important. It involves much more than finding a suitable subsidised loan. Companies first need to determine which measures are meaningful and should be prioritised, which economic and regulatory risks need to be considered, and which financing instruments fit their specific situation.

Good financing therefore begins long before the actual discussion with a bank: with sound investment planning, a reliable data basis and a transparent presentation of expected impacts and risks.

Combining Public Funding and Financing Effectively

For many transformation projects, combining different instruments can be crucial. Public funding programmes, low-interest loans, guarantees, equity and other financing solutions can complement one another and help make investments economically feasible.

The key is not to consider funding and financing options in isolation. Companies benefit in particular when they assess at an early stage:

• which investments are specifically planned,
• which requirements need to be met for funding,
• which documents and key figures financing partners expect,
• how risks can be assessed and mitigated,
• and how different instruments can be combined into a viable overall financing structure.

This structured preparation can significantly improve the chances of securing financing. It also creates a common basis for discussions with banks, funding institutions, advisory organisations and other partners.

Practical Knowledge for Concrete Transformation Projects

In the current KLIMAready blog article, the NAFIM Service Centre explains why sustainable finance is a relevant future topic, particularly for SMEs. The article makes clear that companies do not have to start from scratch when financing sustainable investments: numerous approaches, instruments and support services are already available for different company sizes, sectors and projects.

Practical examples from Hamburg illustrate how sustainable finance can be structured in concrete terms. They show that successful transformation financing works particularly well when technical, economic and financial perspectives are considered together. This makes investment decisions not only more sustainable, but also easier to plan over the long term.

Exchange at the Interface of Climate and Finance

With KLIMAready, we create a framework for knowledge transfer and networking at the interface of climate transformation, business and finance. The collaboration with the NAFIM Service Centre underlines how important it is to bring together the perspectives of the real economy and the financial sector.

Sustainable transformation requires not only innovative ideas and concrete measures, but also suitable financing structures. Companies need clear information, access to relevant contacts and guidance in an increasingly complex funding and financing environment.

Finance City Hamburg, KLIMAready and NAFIM contribute to this by creating greater transparency, stronger exchange and better conditions for sustainable investments to be implemented effectively by SMEs.