By Cynthia Ezekwe.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has unveiled an energy finance loan initiative designed to enable Nigerian households and small businesses to gain access to as much as N10 million to purchase assets such as batteries, inverters, and other green energy equipment.
The bank stated that the product was created to lessen the impact of reduced subsidies on traditional fossil fuels, which has caused a rise in petrol prices across the country, given the pervasive use of small gasoline generators to power households and small businesses.
Commenting on the energy loan initiative, Yemisi Edun, the managing director of FCMB, said, “Access to energy drives economic growth and development. The FCMB energy finance offering is a reaffirmation of our commitment to eco-friendly energy finance to fight climate change, drive the growth of businesses, improve the quality of life, and accelerate development through environmentally sustainable energy solutions. With the removal of the petrol subsidy, more Nigerians are focusing on alternative energy sources to power their homes and businesses.
She reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to support individuals and businesses, and enable the country to take full advantage of the opportunities in the renewable and clean energy sector.
On his part, George Ogbonnaya, the group head of business banking at FCMB, said, “We understand the challenges individuals and businesses face in securing funding to provide clean and sustainable power. The FCMB Energy Finance loan is structured to eliminate these challenges. It is a flexible facility with two to seven years of repayment options at competitive interest rates. We urge Nigerians, especially small business owners, to take advantage of this opportunity to reduce energy costs for their homes and businesses’.”
Commending the initiative, Ayo Ademilua,president of the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN), said the energy finance loan is innovative and coming at the right time when the market needs alternative energy solutions mostly due to increase in fuel pump prices.
Speaking on carbon financing, Segun Adaju, the CEO of Consistent Energy Limited, noted that the 2023 Electricity Act promotes private-public sector partnerships, allowing private companies to participate in the renewable energy space and catalyze investments through carbon trading.
According to Adaju, the carbon trading market has become attractive, and more parties are beginning to promote carbon trading in Africa following the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) established in 2022 to unlock the potential of voluntary carbon markets for financing Africa’s energy, climate, and development goals.
“It is heartwarming that FCMB has keyed into this by providing a platform through the FCMB Energy Finance Loan product to provide the much-needed funding to Nigerians to acquire affordable clean energy sources,” he added.
