MULTINATIONAL - Leaf Risk Sharing Facility with the African Guarantee Fund (LEAF RSF)

The LEAF Risk Sharing Facility (LEAF RSF) is a USD 100m counter-guarantee facility to the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) aimed at supporting access to finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the decentralized renewable energy space (DRE) that offer solar home systems (SHS), green mini-grids (GMG) and captive commercial/industrial solutions (C&I). The proposal is for the Bank to contribute with USD 52m Partial Credit Guarantee (PCG) to the facility while the Green Climate Fund (GCF) –in context of the Leveraging Energy Access Finance Framework (LEAF) –contributes with USD 48 million PCG. The facility is expected to catalyze a minimum of USD 267 million in local currency financing from AGF’s Partner Financial Institutions (“PFIs”) for DRE projects and companies over a 5-year investment period. The LEAF RSF is similar to the Bank’s Affirmative Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Risk Sharing Mechanism (AFAWA RSM) Initiative, in collaboration with AGF wherein the Bank and other donors provide counter-guarantees for PFIs’ portfolios of loans to women-led or women-owned businesses. This project primarily contributes to climate mitigation results. As such, 100% of the total approved amount is attributed as climate finance, of which 100% is dedicated to mitigation.