Press Release: August 21, 2019.
Today’s agreement between the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to establish a specialized Climate Finance Facility is a critical and exciting step in a years-long process. The agreement marks the GCF’s commitment of US$56 million to the Climate Finance Facility, which will use financial tools such as credit enhancements to drive investment into projects that mitigate climate change.
The Climate Finance Facility also has capital from the DBSA’s balance sheet, for an initial capitalization of more than US$100 million. With its transactions the Climate Finance Facility will aim to draw in five dollars of private investment for each dollar directly invested.
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) applauds this progress and is proud to have partnered with the DBSA on designing the facility and arranging the deal with the Green Climate Fund. This work was funded by Convergence Finance and the ClimateWorks Foundation.
Andrea Colnes, International Director at CGC, said: “We are thrilled to see South Africa’s Climate Finance Facility move forward. The facility is the first of its kind to use the Green Bank model in a developing country, and sets the stage for others to take advantage of this innovative and cost-effective method to drive investment into clean projects and take action against climate change.”
That expansion of the Green Bank model in developing countries is already underway in Rwanda, where CGC has been engaged to develop a new Catalytic Green Investment Fund with the support of the Rwanda office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
For more information on South Africa’s Climate Finance Facility and CGC’s partnership with the DBSA, see:
- GCF and DBSA partnership to boost climate investments in the Southern Africa region
- New Case Study highlights CGC’s work to create $100M Green Bank in South Africa
- GCF funds first Green Bank, committing $55.6m for Green Bank in Southern Africa
- On the Road to a South African Green Bank
For more on Rwanda’s Catalytic Green Investment Fund, see: