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 MoU, which took place at the DBN Head Office in Lagos on Wednesday, will see 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 the 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 areas of collaboration between the service providers and the funding partner include developing the ecosystems for the financing of Green MSMEs, review of MSMEs project ideation and design, capacity building, and ensuring financial readiness of MSMEs, in addition to the provision of strands for Women-led MSMEs in green areas, research and data provision and project verification to ensure compliance with globally accepted taxonomy/sustainability principles and standards.
As a funding partner, DBN will provide the financing platform from international development partners for Green MSMEs as identified and endorsed by the service providers as well as technical/financial assistance to partners, financial institutions, and MSMEs to develop capacity for ideation, development, financing, and management of impactful, viable, and financially sustainable green projects.
