The President and Board Chairman for the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, has emphasized the bank’s commitment to climate issues and sustainable development projects.
In a statement upon receipt of the Financial Institution of the Year, Africa category award at the Africa Sustainability Awards held at the Arena of the Accra International Conference Centre on Monday December 30, Dr. Agyekum Donkor said the European Investment Bank have given EBID an amount of one million euros to enhance the regional bank’s climate related and sustainable development projects.
Dr. Agyekum Donkor who received the award from the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Myriam Montrat said, “for us to be able to sustain our operations, it is important for us to pay attention to climate issues in accordance with SDG 13.
Therefore, the bank has committed itself to ensuring that climate issues are taken on board seriously. For that reason, we have financed a number of climate related projects across all the countries of West Africa.”
The EBID President said the bank actually finances projects in the areas of agriculture, energy, mining, infrastructure, industry and services.
He stated that, “It is for this reason that the African Sustainability Awards has recognized our role as a leading institution committed to climate change and committed to sustainable development activities. And that is why they have actually given us an award. This award is an affirmation of our commitment to climate issues in West Africa and of course Africa and the world.”
Dr. Agyekum Donkor dedicated the award to the Board of Governors, the Ministers for Finance, the Board of Directors and the entire staff of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development whose tenacity and hard work have earned the bank the high award.
This award recognizes EBID’s outstanding dedication to sustainable practices across Africa and its commitment in advancing Africa’s environmental, social and economic progress in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In line with its mission of improving access to sustainable financial resources in West Africa, the Bank has to-date committed over USD1 billion to sustainability-driven projects, guided by its Strategy for 2021-25.
The Bank’s attention to sustainable initiatives has gained international recognition such that the European Investment Bank (EIB) recently extended a line of credit in the amount of EUR 100 million to support climate-friendly and sustainable projects in the ECOWAS sub-region.
It will be recalled that in February 2023, EBID published its first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Finance Framework, formalizing its commitment to green financing and sustainability initiatives.
This was followed by the maiden edition of the Bank’s informative series dubbed “The President’s Round Table” on the theme “Greening West Africa” in October 2023. The program, which gathered environmental and sustainability experts from across the continent, focused on the effects of climate change in West Africa and made proposals for climate-conscious economic development.
Additionally, EBID recently made history as the first Development Finance Institution (DFI) to issue a Green, Social and Sustainable (GSS) Bond on the UEMOA regional financial market, the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) which was oversubscribed within a space of 48 hours.
The Bank is also in the process of finalizing its accreditation to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and in that regard, recently received a high-level delegation from GCF, South Korea, for discussions on measures aimed at positioning the Bank to better support the sub-region in this area.
The African Sustainability Awards (ASA) is a platform that honours individuals, organisations, businesses, NGOs and government bodies that demonstrate a high commitment to sustainable practices.
The award ceremony was heralded by performances by recognized Ghanaian artistes includes Bessa Simons, Sherifa Gunu, Amandzeba, Adaha Band and Rocky Dawuni.