Standard Chartered Strengthens Commitment To Climate Agenda

Standard Chartered Kenya has announced the closure of a key sustainable finance deal in Kenya as it progresses its global commitment to the provision of green financing to aid the transition to net zero.

The closure of the KES 15 billion Sustainable Linked Loan (SLL) with Safaricom PLC is one of the largest deals ever undertaken in Africa and is the first Kenya Shilling denominated SLL in the market.

Standard Chartered Kenya acted as the Global Coordinator, Sustainability Coordinator, and Mandated Lead Arranger for the deal, it announced during a multi-sectoral event held on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Summit currently ongoing in Nairobi. The deal signals the ongoing emphasis on building sustainable financing models in line with global commitments to meet net-zero targets.

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“We need dramatic shifts in investment, reforms, and supplemental policies to attain a low carbon future. Despite the fast-growing sustainable finance market, Africa is yet to attract the trillions of dollars of investment needed per year to reach net zero promptly,” said Kariuki Ngari, Chief Executive Officer, of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya.

This morning, Standard Chartered convened stakeholders to discuss the opportunities for Kenya to leapfrog towards becoming a low-carbon economy. The discussions brought together leading industry thought leaders, policymakers, and clients of the bank to discuss opportunities for sustainable finance, carbon markets, and debt structures for ESG structures across Africa

“If we can fundamentally shift the way financiers, governments, global institutions, and technology providers engage with each other, we can attract the blended finance solutions that are required to achieve our net zero ambitions,” said Chris Kirigua, Director-General, of Public-Private Partnerships at the National Treasury.

On his part, Eric Kiniti, Group Corporate Relations Director, East Africa Breweries told the forum about the institution’s push to use 100% renewable electricity by 2030 in each of the company’s facilities. “This investment would also include the production of biofuels, which could potentially reduce our carbon emissions by 95 percent,” he said.

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Aside from leveraging the emerging sustainable finance opportunities, countries can also tap into self-financing options. Recent research from Standard Chartered highlights an increasing number of investors in growth regions are becoming more conscious about sustainability issues facing their home markets and beyond. The report indicates that Kenya has the potential to tap into USD19 billion of retail sustainable investment potential by 2030.

“Climate is already affecting everyone in Kenya at a personal level, but we have already proven that we can transform the way we use mobile technologies and mobile finance to suit our own needs. If Kenya can do the same for climate solutions through partnerships and creative approaches then its progress to net zero is assured,” said Dr. John Murton CMG, Senior Sustainability Advisor, Standard Chartered.

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