In order to strengthen their collaboration in Nigeria to combat climate change, the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed a grant agreement for 2.5 million euros from the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
This information was provided in a statement made available to the media on Thursday in Abuja by the project manager at AFD, Ms. Assatou Kumagangue.
According to the statement, Xavier Muron, Country Director of AFD in Nigeria, and Olukayode Pitan, Managing Director (MD) of BOI, met to discuss how to combat climate change in Nigeria with the support of Emmanuelle Blatmann, the French Ambassador to Nigeria.
The conference was convened at the French Embassy by necessity, according to the statement, given that France has contributed more than 1.5 billion euros to the Green Climate Fund as of 2019.
On August 23, 2022, BOI and AFD signed a 100-million-Euro credit-line for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria, according to the statement.
The TFSC Program focuses on financing investments that contribute to climate change mitigation, specifically renewable energy, low carbon and efficient energy generation, climate smart agriculture technologies, clean urban transportation, and others.
BOI and AFD now recognize the significance of incorporating climate finance into BOI’s strategy and operations.
Therefore, the grant agreement sets up a technical assistance scheme for BOI.
The objective is to build the capacity of BOI, thereby providing tools for effective identification and development of eligible bankable climate-related projects and improving the readiness of the bank’s customers to implement green practices in their operations.
He said the implementation of the Environment and Social Governance framework provided for in the credit agreement would be an important part of the technical assistant mandate.
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“Given the serious threat that climate change poses to equitable and sustainable development in Nigeria, it is critical for BOI to take the lead in mobilizing capital for green and sustainable investment.
In addition to the line of credit, the 2.5 million-Euro Technical Assistance funds will support capacity building for BOI and its customers, thereby enabling the scaling of current efforts by BOI towards climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Mr. Olukayode Pitan, MD, BOI, said it would contribute significantly to reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint, with specific reference to Gender Equality.
He said it would also support BOI in the development and implementation of gender equality and gender lens investing policies.