Page 10 - AfrElec Week 33 2021

AfrElec GREEN BONDS AfrElec
EBRD makes $50mn green loan to Egypt’s QNB ALAHLI
EGYPT
THE European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is boosting small busi- nesses and green investments in Egypt with a $50mn loan to QNB ALAHLI, one of Egypt’s largest commercial banks.
The loan, which includes $7.5mn of conces- sional finance from the Green Climate Fund, will be used for on-lending to households and local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The EU will support the financing to QNB ALAHLI with up to €5.128mn of EU funds for incentive payments to projects that are success- fully implemented and verified.
The EU will also provide a comprehensive technical assistance package of up to €6.2mn for all participating financial institutions and their clients, as well as for policy dialogue.
QNB ALAHLI is the first bank in Egypt to benefit from a loan under the GCF GEFF Regional Egypt Framework, the second Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF II) in the country.
The GCF-EBRD Green Energy Financing Facilities (GEFF) programme, inaugurated in 2018, spans three regions and directs new cli- mate finance flows to Armenia, Egypt, Geor- gia, Jordan, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Serbia, Tajikistan and Tunisia.
To date, the cooperation between the EBRD and QNB ALAHLI on various projects is worth more than $720mn cumulatively, and has a spe- cial focus on SMEs, women-led businesses and green financing.
QNB ALAHLI will extend the EBRD’s financing to private sub-borrowers, including individual households and SMEs, operating in the residential, agribusiness, industrial, com- mercial and service sectors, who are developing green energy efficiency, water efficiency, renewa- ble energy and resource efficiency projects.
This will promote the use of
high-performance technologies and services in climate-mitigation and climate-adaptation activities, and will help with the transition to a greener economy. In Egypt and the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, it is the first pro- gramme of this kind to have both a retail and a residential segment.
Heike Harmgart, EBRD Managing Director for the southern and eastern Mediterranean, said: “We are very happy to roll out GEFF II in Egypt with the EU and GCF’s support to pro- mote green investments, in line with our Green Economy Transition strategy. Through our part- nership with QNB ALAHLI we have been able to support small businesses and trade and to increase finance for greener projects.”
Mohamed El Dib, Chairman and Managing Director of QNB ALAHLI, said: “It gives us great pleasure to cooperate with the EBRD in this remarkable transaction, which is in line with our ambitions to support Egypt’s business and social communities and its economic development, with particular emphasis on the development of the SME and retail segments, as well as the pro- motion of a greener economy. We look forward to further strengthening this partnership to meet our mutual objectives to serve economic, social and environmental well-being.”
Egypt is a founding member of the EBRD. Since the start of its operations there in 2012, the Bank has invested more than €7.7 billion in 132 projects in the country.
The GCF-EBRD’s partnership for transfor- mation has seen the GCF support six EBRD programmes with $830mn, catalysing more than $3.6bn in total project value, the EBRD said.
The GCF is the largest climate fund in the world, supporting the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change, it added.™
P10
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 33 19•August•2021