World Bank to fund small, clean-tech firms $60 million

LONDON (Reuters) - The World Bank group said it is launching a $60 million equity financing facility to help kick-start small companies that sell goods and services aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions in developing nations.

A maximum investment of $10 million will be made in any one company, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank group member, said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The Cleantech Innovation Facility, by blending private and public funds, should be able to "address a market gap" within climate finance, said Mohsen Khalil, global head of IFC's climate business group.

"It will support clean-tech companies originating from or moving to developing countries -- companies that have the potential to be scaled up and make a real impact but cannot access commercial risk capital," he said in the statement.

IFC said its equity investments in the clean technology sector now total around $150 million in commitments.

Financing emission reductions in developing nations will be one of the key issues discussed at global climate talks in South Africa next month.

At a U.N. summit in Copenhagen in 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama and other leaders promised new and additional climate aid approaching $30 billion from 2010-2012 and rising to $100 billion a year by 2020 to help the poor combat global warming.

(Reporting By Jeff Coelho, editing by Jane Baird)