Abstract
This paper examines finance in Strategic Niche Management (SMM), advancing understanding of its critical role in sustainable transitions. The conceptual framework incorporates concepts from finance and the history of technology to explore how finance nurtures, shields and empowers sustainable technologies. An instrumental case study on South Africa's green hydrogen niche focuses on the financing mechanisms that anchor social actions to reproduce and reconfigure financing rules. Findings resonate with SNM's foundational theories yet reveal a paradoxical role of rule stability as both a crucial constraint and enabler in financing sustainable technologies. The study advises policymakers to reconsider the emphasis on scale, proposing experimental strategies for radical transformation. Scholars are also encouraged to explore the utility of the mediation junction as a novel analytical construct for examining policy and exploring how finance interacts with niche processes to shape protected space for sustainable technologies.