Collaborating with Mozambican financial institutions to increase renewable energy investments
29 June 2021 | GET.invest and the GIZ Cluster “Financial Systems Development” have joined hands with financiers in Mozambique to increase investments in decentralised renewable energy projects. The collaboration is part of GET.invest’s mission to strengthen renewable energy markets, funded in Mozambique by the European Union and Germany.
Although investments in renewable energy in Mozambique have increased substantially over the past years, this has mostly been done with outside capital and foreign currency, creating dependencies and exposing borrowers to currency risks. Accordingly, local currency financing is one of the missing links to scale up investment flows into renewables. The newly launched collaboration aims to support financial institutions in Mozambique in developing and offering finance products to increase the share of financing for renewables. In a first round, the Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI), Banco Internacional de Moçambique (BIM), Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI) and Moza Banco will be provided with tailor-made training and coaching to expand their scope for action in this area. The focus of the tailored activities is now being determined and may include advisory on due diligence processes and developing specific financial products for renewable energy projects and companies.
The project was kicked off in March 2021 with a roundtable organised in collaboration with the Mozambican Banking Association (AMB), attended by eleven banks. Representatives of both the European Union Delegation and the German Embassy in Mozambique expressed their governments’ support for Mozambique’s National Electrification Strategy and the development of a sustainable market for renewable energies.
Mr. Jesus Gavilan-Marin, Energy Programme Officer at the European Union Delegation in Mozambique: “The European Union has access to sustainable and affordable energy at its cooperation heart. To improve access to energy for the Mozambican population and private sector operators, an enabling environment towards leveraging investments is key. Hence, the European Union is proud to support this specific project supporting national financiers in Mozambique.”
Mr. Thierry Kühn, Head of Cooperation, German Embassy in Mozambique: “Energy has become a focal area to German Development Cooperation, with a wide spectrum of projects being supported. German cooperation is driven by the belief that only a market that allows competition and involvement of the private sector will present reliable, sustainable and affordable energy solutions to all Mozambicans. German Financial Cooperation is already providing a credit line for renewable energy and energy efficiency in local currency. Hence, Germany is looking forward to work side-by-side with the European Union and the Government of Mozambique on a project specifically focusing on assisting Mozambican financiers. “
The Secretary General of the Mozambican Banking Association AMB, Mr. Elisio Langa, commended the initiative: “Local banks are increasingly interested in financing renewable energy projects and scaling up the Mozambican renewable energy sector. This project comes at the right time, and will help the institutions develop suitable financial products .”
The project will run until the end of 2021. A potential extension and future activities will be communicated in a timely manner. Read more about similar activities in Rwanda.
To learn more about this activity, click here.