Arun Gopalan is a Regional Investment Specialist with UNCDF.

Previously, Arun advised the IFC, through GreenMax Capital Advisors, on distributed renewable-energy pipeline development across Africa and Asia and supported Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) on private-capital mobilization for health-facility electrification. With KPMG Oy Ab, he appraised Green Climate Fund (GCF) proposals under the Private Sector Facility, including major blended-finance transactions in India, South Africa, and Egypt. Arun has been an Investment Officer for the UNCDF BUILD Fund, managing the renewable-energy portfolio and evaluating transactions exceeding USD 20 million across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. He has also supported UNCDF’s Pacific team on pipeline development and the structuring of guarantee and blended-finance mechanisms to mobilize private capital for climate-aligned investments.

At UNCDF, Gopolan currently leads the design and structuring of guarantee and blended-finance mechanisms to expand financial inclusion, renewable energy, WASH, and climate adaptation financing across Asia and the Pacific. He also manages one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest clean-tech accelerators, the USD 45 million Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO) programme.

An Indian national, Arun holds an MBA with a specialization in Finance from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Anna University, India. He brings over a decade of experience at the intersection of blended finance, climate investment, and clean-energy acceleration across emerging markets.