The National Development and Investment Bank of Mozambique (BNI) was selected as one of the Mozambican banks to participate in a project sponsored by entities of the European Union aimed at supporting financial institutions in the energy sector, specifically renewable energies.
The project aims to promote local financing of the renewable energy ecosystem and is managed by the GIZ ‘Financial Systems Development’ program on behalf of GET.invest, an initiative supported by the EU, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria. Implementation of the project is in the hands of Frankfurt-based IPC GmbH.
Through technical support, the program also aims to promote domestic private financing for different types of renewable energy investments by supporting BNI in developing internal capabilities for structuring suitable financial products for the sector, transferring practical know-how in evaluating applications and designing appropriate risk mitigation solutions for loans.
The program will have an initial duration of one year and will include support for the structuring of renewable energy projects currently in BNI’s portfolio.
Tomás Matola, BNI’s CEO stated that “renewable energies are part of an important pillar for the development of our country and a greater inclusion in Mozambique’s electrification process. BNI, as an instrument for the implementation of the Mozambican Government’s development strategy, has a strategic role in the structuring of renewable energy projects”.
According to Rui Chikande, IPC’s financial sector specialist, “The potential for renewable energies in Mozambique is enormous and practically unexploited. As such, this is also a great opportunity for Commercial Banks in Mozambique. The regulatory framework is designed for large projects such as hydropower.
Therefore, it is not adapted to renewable energy, i.e. smaller projects with short development periods. As such, many players in the financial sector have not accumulated experience in the renewable energy ecosystem. Through this initiative, we propose training to improve the supply of credit in the renewable energy sector, supported by national financial institutions.”
