Equity Bank Uganda has launched an environmental conservation and climate financing initiative to facilitate clean energy generation and increase the adoption and purchase of innovative clean energy technologies that directly impact peoples’ health, incomes and the environment in Uganda and other countries within East and Central Africa.
The Bank is working together with households and institutions to transition them to cleaner technologies and fuels and will provide loans from as low as UGX 100,000 to UGX 20 million for individuals and as low as UGX 1 million to UGX 100 million for institutions or organisation.
The financing will cover clean cooking energy solutions for schools and institutions, agricultural equipment such as bio digesters, household equipment such as biogas and solar panels among others.
“With the glaring negative effects of climate change affecting the entire world, protection of the environment and sustainable use of our natural resources is key to all our interventions. We believe that the battle of environmental protection cannot be won by government alone,” said Equity Bank Uganda Executive Director Commercial Michael Matovu Sseguya, at a high-level stakeholder engagement on energy and environment financing in Kampala.
The engagement under the theme “Unlocking Climate financing opportunities through private sector engagement,” drew players from the private sector, development organisations and the government.
Sseguya said Equity Bank Uganda is cognizant of its role in sustainable financing and will strategically provide its infrastructure and expertise to accelerate and scale programs and projects aimed at protecting the planet.
Despite the availability of cleaner and more efficient energy solutions, majority of households, businesses, institutions and industries lack knowledge on such solutions or cannot access or afford to invest in them.
As the world stares at a climate change catastrophe, supporting communities, farmers and businesses to go green will help them to be more resilient and environmentally sustainable.
The Bank has made available funding in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, water, climate smart agriculture, circular economy and waste management, green buildings, transportation and afforestation.
In addition to funding, Equity will also address these challenges by increasing awareness of the benefits of a greener economy and encouraging SMEs to adopt cleaner production processes and operations that protect the planet.
“Accelerating and scaling these interventions will be key in combating climate change and create more sustainable and resilient communities and businesses. These interventions will also support the Government of Uganda efforts to achieve its commitment to the Paris Agreement of reducing emissions by 22% by the year 2030,” said Eric Naivasha, Associate Director Energy and Environment Equity Group Foundation.