Foreword — Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor Vol. 43, No. 2

Emerging technologies are creating new opportunities to enhance productivity, strengthen resilience, and accelerate sustainable development. Their transformative potential can be realised effectively only if they are deployed at scale—and access to finance remains one of the critical enabling factors. Nowhere is the need for innovative financing more apparent than in efforts to address climate change. Developing countries require at least US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035 to meet their climate mitigation and adaptation needs, yet the international community has committed to providing and mobilising US$300 billion per year under the New Collective Quantified Goal on climate finance agreed at COP29. Bridging this gap will require not only greater volumes of finance but also innovative mechanisms capable of accelerating the deployment and diffusion of technologies that support low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable development pathways.

This edition of the Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor, themed "Innovative Financing Models for Emerging Technologies", explores how financial innovation can help unlock the potential of emerging technologies and bring transformative solutions to scale. The five articles included in this issue examine three fundamental questions: How can capital be mobilised at scale? How can risk be shared so that finance reaches ventures that markets alone would not support? How can financing mechanisms deliver measurable results? The articles explore a range of solutions, from green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds to Islamic finance and blended finance structures capable of mobilising public and private capital at scale. They examine public-private partnerships, innovation and climate funds, venture capital, and results-based financing as mechanisms for sharing risk and unlocking investment where conventional approaches often fall short. They also highlight emerging tools such as asset tokenisation and blockchain-enabled financing, alongside a cross-country analysis of climate bonds, illustrating how financial innovation can influence technology deployment, value creation, and national development outcomes.

Taken together, these contributions underscore a simple but often overlooked truth: financing is not a technical afterthought to technology adoption. It is a critical enabler of innovation, diffusion, and impact. The availability of appropriate financing often determines whether a promising technology remains confined to pilot projects or evolves into a transformative solution that reaches communities, enterprises, and economies at scale.

APCTT remains committed to advancing policy dialogue, regional cooperation, and knowledge-sharing that help align financing solutions with technology development and diffusion priorities across Asia and the Pacific. We hope this edition offers practical insights and renewed momentum for policymakers, financial institutions, development partners, and innovators working to build more inclusive and effective financing ecosystems for emerging technologies.