Mozambican banks collaborate with European programme to increase renewable energy investments

The European programme GET.invest and the GIZ Cluster “Financial Systems Development” have joined hands with financiers in Mozambique to increase investments in decentralised renewable energy projects. The collaboration is part of GET.invest’s mission to strengthen renewable energy markets, funded in Mozambique by the European Union and Germany. GET.invest is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

Although investments in renewable energy in Mozambique have increased substantially over the past years, this has mostly been done with outside capital and foreign currency, creating dependencies and exposing borrowers to currency risks. Accordingly, local currency financing is one of the missing links to scale up investment flows into renewables. The newly launched collaboration between banks and programmes aims to support financial institutions in Mozambique in developing and offering finance products to increase the share of financing for renewables. In a first round, the Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI), Banco Internacional de Moçambique (BIM), Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI) and Moza Banco will be provided with tailor-made training and coaching to expand their scope for action in this area. The focus of the tailored activities is now being determined and may include advisory on due diligence processes and developing specific financial products for renewable energy projects and companies.

The project was kicked-off in March 2021 with a roundtable organised in collaboration with the Mozambican Banking Association (AMB), attended by eleven banks. Representatives of both the European Union Delegation and the German Embassy in Mozambique expressed their governments’ support for Mozambique’s National Electrification Strategy and the development of a sustainable market for renewable energies.