By Akanimo Sampson
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group says there is a $588 billion investment opportunity in climate mitigation across selected sectors in South Africa between now and 2030.
As a result, it has announced Africa’s first certified green loan to Absa Bank Ltd.
It will increase funding for biomass and other renewable energy projects in South Africa, supporting the country’s power sector and economic recovery from COVID-19.
IFC will provide Absa Bank Ltd., one of Africa’s largest financial services groups, with a loan of up to $150 million to support the bank’s strategy to expand its climate finance business and help South Africa meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets.
The loan is the first certified loan in Africa that complies with the Green Loan Principles.
This means that lending by Absa for green projects will be disclosed, improving transparency, and encouraging other banks to follow the principles.
In addition to the loan, IFC will provide technical advice and knowledge sharing to help the bank develop a green, social, and sustainable bonds and loans framework.
Absa Bank is however, a subsidiary of Absa Group Limited which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services groups.
Absa Group offers an integrated set of products and services across personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management and insurance.
The Group’s registered head office is in Johannesburg, South Africa, and it owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa (Absa Bank), Tanzania (Absa Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia.
The Group also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, as well as insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, and an International Representative Office in London and New York.
Absa Interim Group Chief Executive, Jason Quinn, says “Africa’s green transition requires considerable mobilization of funds. The agreement with IFC bolsters our funding available for green projects and strengthens Absa’s position as a leader in financing renewable projects in South Africa.”
Absa is the leader in arranging financing for South Africa’s Renewable Independent Power Producer Program, having structured and arranged financing for approximately 46 percent of projects concluded under the program to date.
IFC’s Country Manager for South Africa, Adamou Labara, said “financial institutions and the private sector have an important role to play helping South Africa to rebuild greener and more sustainably from the impact of COVID-19.
”By increasing funding for renewable energy and climate smart projects we can help South Africa strengthen its climate change resilience and increase climate change adaptation.”
South Africa has set the goals of reducing its greenhouse-gas emissions by 42 percent by 2025 and its reliance on coal by 2050. Today, 90 percent of the country’s electricity is generated by coal-fired plants.
The project with Absa is in line with a climate initiative IFC launched in January 2020 to help financial institutions in South Africa, Egypt, Mexico, and the Philippines to mobilize private sector financing for climate mitigation and adaptation projects and help align financial-sector strategies with Paris Climate Agreement targets.
In South Africa, financial institutions are critical sources of climate finance, with commercial banks currently providing 67 percent of the financing for renewable energy projects.
This is IFC’s fourth investment dedicated to green finance in South Africa’s financial sector.
iFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. It works in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.
In the fiscal year 2020, it invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.
