€5 million loan for investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies for Moldova

The citizens of Moldova will benefit from new green technology thanks to a €5 million loan provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to Moldova Agroindbank SA (MAIB) under the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF).

The loan combines €3.75 million of EBRD finance and €1.25 million of GCF concessional co-finance. The financing for MAIB is the first loan to be made available under the GEFF in Moldova and is expected to facilitate the country’s transition to a more sustainable, low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.

The loan will be used for on-lending to individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates for investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies and services, such as thermal insulation for buildings, energy-efficient glazing, LED lighting, heat pumps, photovoltaic generation and energy storage systems, electric vehicles as well as drip irrigation lines, conservation agriculture machinery and rainwater harvesting equipment. 

The EBRD, with funds from the GCF and Turkey, will help MAIB with capacity-building and with the implementation and monitoring of the programme. Experts will provide know-how and raise awareness about climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies among private sector clients. In addition, they will offer project appraisal support and guide sub-borrowers to optimal technology choices. 

The loan is expected to help Moldova reduce its annual energy consumption by 108,800 GJ per year, the equivalent of annual energy consumption of more than 6,000 Moldovan households and carbon emissions by 9,880 tonnes per year, equivalent to taking more than 5,000 passenger vehicles off the streets.

The EBRD will also support activities that aim to enhance women’s and men’s equal opportunities to access finance for green technologies.

The GEFF programme operates through a network of more than 145 local financial institutions across 27 countries, supported by more than €4.6 billion of EBRD finance for 190,000 clients to date. These projects have led to annual CO2 emission reductions of more than 8.6 million tonnes.

The EBRD is one of the largest institutional investors in Moldova. To date, it has invested around €1.4 billion in more than 135 projects in the country to support private businesses, key infrastructure and to build a greener and more sustainable economy.