For many industrial facilities and households, the switch to Green energy has been viewed as a better alternative. However, the cost of switching to renewable energy sources and the immediate funding required has hindered many from making progress in this regard.
Sustainable Use of Natural Resources & Energy Financing (SUNREF), a green finance label developed by l’Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) and supported by the European Union (EU), has launched its energy financing program for Ghana at the Alisa Hotel in Accra
The Programme is a unique and innovative financial offer, with a credit line of Euro 30 million from the AFD and 4 million from the EU, provided to local partner banks. As of press time, CalBank is the first bank to partner with the programme.
Through this partnership with local partnering banks, SUNREF Ghana will offer competitive loans and technical assistance for structuring green investments, to help companies, organizations, individuals and households seize the opportunities of green finance and the ecological transition. As a major local actor in the promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Ghana, the Energy Commission is the key partner in the implementation of the technical assistance component of the program.
The launch of the project generated a hundred million impressions on Twitter and gave a glimpse of the possible great leap forward that can be made when the public has available funding to undertake green projects that will benefit ourselves and our world. Electric cars from Renault, Taxi Solar and other manufacturers were featured and could be acquired under the SUNREF financial facility.
Speaking at the event, the French Ambassador in Ghana, Her Excellency Anne-Sophie AVE said the collaboration between the European Union, the AFD and local partnering banks represents “a stepping stone towards energy transition and the decrease of Ghana’s carbon footprint and energy intensity.”