The ecological transition should accelerate very soon in West Africa. The Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) will finance green projects through its recently published inaugural Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Finance Framework. The funds it will release over the next three years will be used to implement UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiatives in its member states.
These include Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Niger, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Cape Verde and Togo where EBID is based. These projects presented by the governments of the targeted countries via local companies will contribute to the promotion of economic integration, social protection (health, education, housing) and especially climate resilience in the region.
“We will promote the emergence of an economically strong, industrialised and prosperous West Africa. This Framework will therefore enable us to structure and execute environmentally responsible financing transactions as outlined in our Strategic Plan 2021-2025,” explains George Agyekum Donkor, EBID’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. One of the highlights of this plan is the promotion of the green economy through carbon neutrality.
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In Senegal, for example, the authorities announced in 2022 that they would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030. The initiative supported by the French Development Agency (AFD) through its 2050 Facility programme will enable the Senegalese government to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as sustainable transport and agriculture.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi