As part of a global initiative on climate change and environmental sustainability, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc, Financial Centre for Sustainability Lagos (FC4S Lagos) and Nigeria Climate Innovation Center (NCIC) have signed an MoU to fund green projects in Nigeria.
The event which took place at the DBN Head Office in Lagos has the DBN play the role of a funding partner for green projects across Nigeria whilst the NCIC and FC4SL will serve as service providers.
The goal of the MoU is to create a dedicated fund for green projects within the Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) ecosystem. This will ensure that the MSMEs have access to finance to execute climate-resilient and green projects in support of global drive on green and sustainability.
The MOU provides a general framework for a project implementation partnership between the service providers and DBN in respect of the provision of finance for green MSMEs in Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary of FC4S Lagos, Mr. Emmanuel Etaderhi, said, “the Green MSMEs Fund is critically important to easing access to finance for MSMEs that are implementing low-carbon, climate-resilient projects as this will contribute towards the achievement of Nigeria’s NDCs and the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.”
Speaking on the MoU, MD/CEO of the NCIC, Mr, Bankole Oloruntoba, stated that “
the core of NCIC duties is to create linkages for Green SMEs and mid-sized companies operating in several gaps in the Emerging Green Economy. These linkages include access to finance, capacity building, access to markets, prototype design, etc. for the Green MSMEs and financing organizations.”
Also commenting, the Executive Director, Finance & Corporate Services, DBN Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba, stated that “We are particularly excited about this partnership because it aligns with our mandate as a development finance institution and also, with our corporate values.”