Data-to-Deal: Component 6. Policy: Enhancing the Enabling Environment – A Best Practice Brief.

This best practice brief presents Component 6 of the Data-to-Deal (D2D) framework, which addresses how to strengthen the enabling environment for investment. This component focuses on the coherent policy, regulatory, and institutional reforms needed to reduce risk, create clear routes to market, and build investor confidence in clean energy and sustainable transport systems. Stable legal frameworks, predictable pricing and incentive structures, and transparent procurement processes are essential to mobilise capital at scale. Component 6 on successful enabling environments comprises three sub-components: (i) operationalising cross-cutting enablers; (ii) identifying and designing policy reforms; and (iii) developing an implementation plan to prioritise and sequence reforms. These sub-components are embedded across the D2D pipeline, linking political commitment, technical planning, and finance mobilisation into a coherent reform agenda. The brief draws on case studies from Zambia, South Africa, and the UK to illustrate how targeted reforms can expand renewable energy, reduce costs, and create investor-ready markets, while also highlighting the role of domestic capital market reforms in unlocking long-term sustainable financing. By operationalising this approach, countries can develop integrated, context-specific reform packages that advance development priorities, meet climate commitments, and strengthen resilience.