The Bank of Industry (BOI) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have signed a grant agreement of 2.5 million Euros, delegated by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which will further their partnership to fight climate change in Nigeria.

Aïssatou Kumagangue, AFD project manager, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

According to the statement, AFD country director in Nigeria Xavier Muron, and BOI MD Olukayode Pitan, met under the patronage of Emmanuelle Blatmann, the ambassador of France to Nigeria and ECOWAS, to fight climate change in Nigeria.

Because France committed more than €1.5 billion to the Green Climate Fund since 2019, it was only natural that the meeting was held at the French Embassy.

It stated that on August 23, 2022, BOI and AFD signed a €100 million credit line to expand green finance in Nigeria.

This was approved under AFD’s Transforming Financial Systems for Climate (TFSC) Programme with the Green Climate Fund (GCF), a $650 million programme developed in 17 countries for 100 per cent climate investment projects.

The TFSC programme focuses on financing investments that contribute to climate change mitigation, specifically projects focused on renewable energy, low carbon and efficient energy generation, climate-smart agriculture technologies, clean urban transportation and others.

According to the statement, BOI and AFD understand the importance of mainstreaming Climate Finance within BOI’s strategy and operations.

Mr Pitan said it would contribute significantly to reducing Nigeria’s carbon footprint, specifically regarding gender equality, signalling support for BOI in developing and implementing professional gender equality and gender lens investing policies.

(NAN)