Western Balkans GEFF - Residential

approved

Sub-projects signed under this framework Establishing the Western Balkans Residential Green Economy Financing Facility ("GEFF" or the "Framework" or "Facility"). The GEFF is envisaged to provide up to EUR 85 million to qualifying Participating Financial Institutions ("PFI") for on-lending to residential sector for green economy investments in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYR of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. The Facility is expected to be supported with grant funds from the European Union ("EU"), the Republic of Austria, the Western Balkans Investment Framework ("WBIF") and other donors. The grant funds will fund Technical Cooperation ("TC") to be provided to PFIs and Sub-borrowers and Investment Incentives to Sub-borrowers. The Facility will aim to contribute to the green economy markets in the Western Balkans by (i) increasing awareness, as well as capacity and involvement, of the population and private sector participants in residential green economy investments, (ii) improving living comfort and affordability of utilities for households, (iii) strengthening local production and supply base for green technologies and materials, and eventually (iv) delivering sizeable resource savings in the key energy consuming sector of the Western Balkans economies. The GEFF will be the first regional green economy financing facility addressing the residential sector in the Western Balkans. The Facility is expected to stimulate the growth of the market for green technologies and materials across the six Western Balkan countries. The GEFF will demonstrate the positive benefits of resource conservation and promote the expansion of green lending to individual households and their collectives in a region and sector characterised by a relatively high energy and carbon intensity. It will demonstrate to the PFIs the market potential for green lending and foster the mobilisation of the private sector financing for the currently underserved residential sector. Financing under the Facility will be complemented with targeted incentive payments, Technical Cooperation, as well as a wide-reaching awareness campaign to alleviate affordability, information and other prevailing barriers and further underpin the market demand for high-performance solutions. PFIs will be local financial institutions (commertial banks, microfinance institutions and other credit institutions) established and operating in the Western Balkans countries. EUR 85,000,000.00 EUR 85,000,000.00 Categorised FI. PFIs under this Facility will be required to comply with the EBRD's Performance Requirements (PRs) 2, 4 and 9, including adherence to the EBRD's Environmental and Social ("E&S") Exclusion List. Due to the nature of the projects targeting the residential sector and a streamlined approval structure, whereby all sub-projects compliant with the Technology Selector/ List of Eligible Suppliers and Installers ("LESI") will be automatically eligible (with the exception of sub-loans to service providers, vendors, producers) the Project Consultant will be designing the Technology selector/LESI taking into account the E&S exclusion list and other applicable requirements. Sub-loans to service providers, vendors, producers will undergo a review by the Project Consultant and will be checked against the EBRD's E&S Exclusion List. New PFIs will be required to submit a completed FI environmental and social due diligence questionnaire to the EBRD to establish their compliance with the PRs. All PFIs will be required to submit Annual Environmental and Social Reports to the Bank including reporting on sub-projects. The GEFF will be supported by a comprehensive Technical Cooperation ("TC") package aiming to support the overall implementation and disbursement of the Facility, as well as help overcome prevailing market barriers and build a self-sustaining market by improving overall awareness of and building long-lasting capacity of all stakeholders for green residential investments. The TC will be provided to both PFIs and sub-borrowers. Activities that will be undertaken by the Project Consultant include; i) Facility set-up and administration, ii) general market awareness, iii) capacity building and toolkit development , iv) capacity building for sub-borrowers, and v) verification of sub-projects and monitoring and reporting to EBRD. Marinela Kalemi kalemim@ebrd.com +44 20 7338 7827 +44 20 7338 7827 www.ebrd.com EBRD, One Exchange Square London, EC2A 2JN United Kingdom