Connecting Projects, Finance and Pathways to Implementation Across the Mekong Region
Seneca Impact Advisors participated in the second Mekong–Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum 2026, held in Bangkok on 27 October under the theme Partnership to Impact: Scaling Sustainable and Innovative Mekong–ROK Cooperation. The invitation-only Forum brought together 200 stakeholders from government, the private sector, financial institutions, development organisations, academia and regional institutions to strengthen partnerships and explore practical pathways for financing, scaling and sustaining projects across the Mekong region. Seneca was represented by Chris Glotfelter, Director, Enterprise Nature Solutions.
A key part of the Forum was the Innovative Finance Marketplace, designed to connect Mekong projects with financing, technology and market solutions. Seneca participated as a finance and solutions provider, bringing its experience in project and programme development, capital mobilisation and financial mechanism structuring to discussions with project implementing agencies and other participants.
Chris presented Seneca’s perspective on the development of bankable nature projects, including the characteristics that can enable projects to attract investment, the role of blended finance, and how different forms of capital can support projects as they progress toward implementation and scale.
For nature and climate projects, this connection between project development and finance is critical. Strong environmental and development objectives do not in themselves create a financeable project. Project structure, sources of value and revenue, risk allocation, stakeholder interests and the suitability of different forms of capital all influence whether an initiative can move forward.
These are the kinds of challenges Seneca works to address across Southeast Asia. We work across the project development process to connect nature, climate and sustainable development objectives with the commercial, financial and institutional considerations required for implementation. Our work includes developing projects and programmes, structuring financial mechanisms, identifying pathways for capital mobilisation, and working with partners to address barriers that can prevent promising initiatives from progressing.
The Innovative Finance Marketplace provided a practical setting for these discussions, bringing project teams together with organisations able to contribute finance, technical expertise, technology and other forms of support. More broadly, the Forum was designed to strengthen connections between Mekong–ROK projects and potential partners and financiers, with an emphasis on sustainability, replication and scale.
Seneca’s participation reflects our wider work to help close the gap between nature and climate ambition and the projects, financing structures and partnerships needed to translate that ambition into implementation.
