aBi Finance tips on climate financing

Agricultural Business Initiative (aBi) has partnered the Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services (UIBFS) to conduct 20 green finance capacity building activations (staff sessions) for staff of partner financial institutions.

These multiple sessions are intended to equip staff of partner financial institutions with more knowledge on green finance, which will inform their decisions while dealing with the negative impact of climate change on the agricultural sector.

aBi is a multi-donor entity devoted to private sector agribusiness development, which was jointly founded by the governments of Denmark and Uganda in 2010. One of aBi’s aims is to increase agricultural production and promote access to sustainable agribusiness finance in Uganda.

Moses Bwire, the Investments manager of Green Growth and Business Development Services at aBi Finance, says the training sessions will help staff to share the same green financing information to those they interact with.

“We believe that by training staff of financial institutions on green finance for investing in climate change adoption, mitigation, and biodiversity conservation to attain sustainable development, we are equipping them to disseminate the same green financing information to fellow staff as well as their agribusiness loan clients across various branches countrywide,” he said.

The finance will also work closely with partner financial institutions to develop green finance information, education, and communication materials, enhance the environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies, green loan products and banking systems to better capture and report on green finance.

Noah Owomugisha, the head of Investments for Green Growth and Business Development Services at aBi finance, emphasized the importance of green finance in driving positive outcomes.

“When financial institutions are put in place, green loan products, and up-to-date banking systems offer themselves to provide loans to smallholder farmers and the other value chain actors for green agribusiness investments that deliver optimal financial returns but also offer good environmental and social benefits,” he said.

aBi Finance Limited provides lines of credit to financial institutions for on-lending to agribusinesses across the entire value chain. aBi Finance also runs an agriculture loan guarantee scheme for financial institutions to share losses incurred through defaulting loans.