BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 26
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
In 2020, Green for Growth Fund (GGF) deepened its engagement with Georgian financial institutions, namely large and small banks as well as leasing companies, the GGF told Trend.
"The GGF approved $74 million for financing energy and resource efficiency measures, as well as small-scale renewable energy projects in Georgia," the source said.
According to the GGF, this was possible thanks to the Fund’s flexible and client-centric approach.
"Thus, when the global pandemic hit at the beginning of the year, we quickly developed and implemented a Green Recovery Strategy to help partner institutions overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic and, more importantly, enable them to continue providing dedicated financing to support the country’s economy," the GGF said.
According to the source, this included eligibility adjustments that provided more flexibility for financial institutions to lend for the purchase of new efficient equipment, and investments in essential sectors such as healthcare, food processing, and agribusiness.
What is also exciting and very important to note, is that a portion of this financing was granted in a local currency, thanks to the generous support of the European Union (which is one of the GGF’s investors) under its EU4Energy initiative, the GGF noted.
"Our investment activities have been complemented by tailored technical assistance to enhance our partner institutions’ green lending capacities as well as to guide and help local businesses implement green measures in the best manner possible. The fund has invested over 360,000 euros for such support activities in the past year," the GGF said.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356