KCB receives United Nations Green Climate Fund as premier financial intermediary

KCB Bank Kenya has been accredited by the United Nations Green Climate Fund as the premier financial intermediary for the implementation of green finance in East Africa.

The bank is the first lender in Kenya and a private sector entity to receive this accreditation, bolstering sustainability efforts within the Group, particularly for the reimagining of the portfolio in the green lending space, said Joshua Oigara, CEO of the KCB group.

“We are very proud of the efforts and investments we have made over the years to integrate and anchor sustainable businesses, which has earned us this recognition. It is an important step for the bank and the country because it opens the investment and the development of the green economy thanks to the support of the GCF ”, declared the CEO of the group.

Accreditation enables the Bank to receive funds from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for on-lending to beneficiary institutions involved in the development of green climate resilient assets / investment projects in Kenya as well as in the region where the bank operates. as an implementing entity.

The accreditation was announced at the 27th Board meeting of the Green Climate Fund in Songdo, South Korea. This followed an in-depth due diligence assessment, conducted by GCF since 2017 to verify the Bank’s readiness in managing climate change programs.

The Bank has been accredited in the medium to large private sector category, therefore, capable of dealing with projects ranging from USD 50 million (Ksh 5 billion) to USD 250 million (Ksh 25 billion).

KCB Bank Kenya was appointed by the National Treasury of the Ministry of Finance to participate in the accreditation of the Green Climate Fund in 2017. Under the Green Climate Fund program, the National Treasury is the national authority Designated (NDA) for the accreditation of entities applying for funding through the Kenya Green Climate Fund.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani welcomed this development and said accreditation underpins Kenya’s position as a leader in green finance.

“Kenya was among the first seven countries in the world whose institutions were accredited by the Green Climate Fund Board for direct access to Fund resources in March 2015. KCB accreditation now confirms leadership and Kenya’s prowess in green finance. It opens the private sector window for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects and programs in the country. It is a key milestone for the bank to be the first locally established private lender and entity to be accredited as direct access in the mid-range to receive up to $ 250 million, ”Yatani said.

Kenya continued to play a leading role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promoting climate change on the global and local platform. This GCF accreditation is therefore a plus in the country’s efforts to support sustainable growth.

Through this accreditation, the bank obtains direct access to finance for financing climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, as well as grants for capacity building, Yatani said.

Kenya being a signatory to the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the SDGs and many global and regional frameworks focused on climate action, has made many efforts to operationalize various policies and laws of Parliament, but not on the scale necessary to avoid the climate emergencies and disasters looming around the world.

The fund will also enable KCB Bank Kenya to sustainably support the country’s aspirations, including the Big 4 Agenda and Vision 2030.

“We already have some sectors that we are looking to invest in that will reduce green gas emissions, however, the fund will generally allow us to close climate finance gaps in all sectors of the economy. Accreditation gives us the opportunity to develop a much more comprehensive capacity than we did not have before, ”added Mr. Oigara.