The country’s economy is expected to be heavily impacted under the €32.5 million Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Financing (SUNREF) programme.  

SUNREF is part of a global initiative by French Development Agency to get public and private banks to finance private sector investments in green technologies and sustainable energy. SUNREF encourages industries and individuals to switch to more sustainable and efficient energy sources.  

Speaking to Joy Business after engaging members of the Association of Ghana Industries in Tema, Team Leader for SUNREF, Normand Michaud said Cal Bank and GCB Bank are partners in pushing the green economy agenda.    

“If you have industries that are willing to invest to be more efficient and generate their own electricity through renewable energy, then the whole country can switch or remove the power [thermal] generation that is polluting the environment. So it is going to help the country a lot.”

“Even financially speaking, if the country can free up some of its electricity consumption they can start selling it more to other countries and so it will have a huge impact on the economy”, he added.

Mr. Michaud further said “the SUNREF programme right now is going to run for two years or maybe three years in terms of providing loans by the two banks – GCB and CalBank. After that, if things go on well, there is also a possibility of doing phase II in which AfB will invest the same amount, that will run for another three or four years.”

The Project coordinator for the SUNREF Ghana programme, who is also a representative from the Energy Commission, Ebenezer Ashie said the SUNREF Ghana programme which aims to facilitate access to affordable sustainable energy and facilitate cost savings will resonate more with the Renewable Energy Master Plan (Vision 2030) of the Energy Commission of Ghana.

He urged admonished small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and other retail consumers to take advantage of the SUNREF project.

The SUNREF project is a financing programme that promotes green growth aimed at helping Ghana  achieves its Vision 2030 Renewable Energy Master Plan.

SUNREF Ghana launches €32.5m Green Finance Programme to boost renewable energy

SUNREF, a green finance label developed by l’Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) and supported by the European Union (EU), launched its energy financing programme for Ghana , in Accra in 2021.

The Programme was a unique and innovative financial offer, with a credit line of €30 million from the AFD and €2.5 million as grant and technical assistance from the EU, provided to local partner banks.

CalBank was the first bank to partner with the programme.

Through this partnership with local partnering banks, SUNREF Ghana will offer competitive loans and technical assistance for structuring green investments, to help companies, organisations, individuals and households seize the opportunities of green finance and the ecological transition.

The programme aims to develop and consolidate a financing market for green investments in the area of energy efficiency, renewable energies and environmental services. SUNREF Ghana will support eligible and viable green projects, help to increase the competitiveness of businesses – particularly SMEs, improve energy security, and strengthen the capacity of local stakeholders.