The Green Climate Fund (GCF) supports climate action in Nigeria. This financing mechanism of the United Nations (UN) provides a grant of 2.5 million dollars to the Bank of Industry (BOI) through the French Development Agency (AFD). As one of the entities accredited by the GCF, AFD signed the financing agreement with BOI.
This is a technical assistance grant. In concrete terms, the financing will strengthen BOI’s capacity by providing tools for the identification and development of eligible climate-related projects that can be financed. For the bank’s clients, the technical assistance aims to prepare them for the implementation of green practices in their operations. The funding agreement signed at the French Embassy in Abuja also provides for the implementation of a BOI Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) framework.
The impact of the TFSC programme
“The €2.5 million technical assistance grant will scale up BOI’s current efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation. This will contribute significantly to reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint. Specifically on gender, the technical assistant will support BOI in the development and implementation of professional gender investment policies,” says BOI Managing Director Olukayode Pitan.
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The development bank, which is co-owned by the Federal Minister of Finance (94%), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, 5%) and private shareholders, wants to support the Nigerian government’s environmental policy. It is in this context that the BOI signed a 100-million-euro line of credit a few months ago with the AFD.
The financing is granted within the framework of the “Transforming Financial Systems for Climate” (TFSC) programme. This 650-million-dollar program is implemented in 17 countries to support 100% climate investment projects, in the framework of a partnership between AFD and the Green Climate Fund. BOI, which benefits from this climate finance, is among the largest development finance institutions in Nigeria. In 2016, the bank had N682.97 billion ($1.4 billion) under management.
Jean Marie Takouleu