Equity Bank Uganda lends Ush37.6bn for green projects
Equity Bank Uganda has extended Ush37.6 billion (about $10 million) in green loans over the past three years to finance renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture and other sustainable businesses.
The lender has also supported the sale of 157,035 clean-energy products, partnered with 18 clean-energy implementing organisations and helped plant 96,638 trees over the period, Managing Director Gift Shoko said.
Mr Shoko said Uganda needs to speed up investment in sustainability through closer collaboration between government, financial institutions, development partners and private firms.
“The question is no longer whether Uganda can afford to invest in sustainability. The question is whether we can afford not to,” he said.
He was speaking at the third CEOs’ Breakfast Meeting and High-Level Dialogue on Green Economy, SDGs and Sustainability, held on October 14 at the UNICEF Conference Centre in Mbuya, Kampala.
“When government provides the enabling environment, the private sector innovates, development partners catalyse investment and financial institutions mobilise capital at scale, Uganda will not merely participate in the green economy; it can thrive through it,” Mr Shoko said.
The Ugandan unit is set to benefit from a $200 million financing agreement secured by its parent, Equity Group, to support smallholder farmers and micro and small enterprises through climate-smart agriculture.
Uganda is expected to receive about a quarter of the funding, or roughly $50 million.
The bank says more than 100,000 young people have been trained under the Young Africa Works programme, while it continues to run financial literacy initiatives for women and youth.
Its Green Schools Programme aims to plant 50,000 trees across 25 schools in 10 districts by the end of the year, rising to 200,000 trees by 2027.
Plantings so far include about 3,500 trees at Nakanyonyi Secondary School in Mukono, 1,500 at Kyasanku Hill College in Mpigi and 1,000 at St Julian Secondary School in Wakiso. More than 43,000 indigenous trees have been planted at Busoga College Mwiri.
The forum, themed “Accelerating Uganda’s Green Economy Transition Through Digital Transformation”, brought together government officials, financial sector leaders, development partners and civil society.
Participants called for stronger public-private partnerships and wider use of technology to expand access to clean energy and scale climate-smart farming.
They also urged policymakers and businesses to turn sustainability commitments into practical regulations, investments and action.
Go to TECHTRENDS.ug for more tech and business news from the African continent and across the world.
Follow us on WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter, and Facebook, or subscribe to our weekly newsletter to ensure you don’t miss out on any future updates. Send tips to info@techtrendsmedia.co.ke
