Through the Jamii bond, Tanzanian commercial bank NMB will support sustainable development. The transaction, launched on the London Stock Exchange, raised $73 million.
Jamii, NMB Bank’s sustainable development bond, attracted several investors, including British International Investment (BII), the financial arm of British diplomacy, which invested in the Tanzanian shilling tranche. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector financing arm of the World Bank Group, also subscribed to the Tanzanian commercial bank’s bonds.
The $73 million transaction was arranged with technical assistance from FSD Africa, the UK’s development finance programme for Africa. “The listing of the NMB Sustainable Development Bond on the London Stock Exchange is an important milestone and demonstrates the potential for entities in the African region to tap into sustainable finance within and beyond the African continent,” said Mark Napier, Managing Director of FSD Africa.
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The proceeds of the bond will be injected into high-impact companies “that combat the climate emergency and support inclusive growth”, says the BII, which points out that such an operation will help to bridge the foreign investment gap in Africa, estimated at between 200 and 400 billion dollars a year.
NMB Bank’s sustainable bond is also contributing to the boom in ESG (environmental, social and governance) bonds, which are developing rapidly in Africa. In fact, the record for sustainable bonds was broken at the start of 2024, with $4.4 billion raised between January and February. This is four times the total amount of ESG bonds ($1.4 billion) on the continent in 2023. This level was achieved thanks to the African Development Bank (AfDB), which issued $2 billion in social bonds.
Jean Marie Takouleu
