A senior loan of EUR 2 million to boost the emerging segment of energy efficiency was announced by Green for Growth Fund (GGF) for Alter Modus Ltd. Montenegro’s largest microfinance institution, with a market share of 70%, recognized the importance of financing and the growth potential in the sector, the press release said.
The investment will help Alter Modus become a pioneer in dedicated financing of energy efficiency in the country, GGF added and stressed the line shows its ability to come to new markets. The local company is expected to on-lend the money to its clients for energy and emission reduction measures at residences and businesses.
Along with the loan, GGF is providing Alter Modus with technical assistance to increase the institution’s expertise in lending in the sector. “By adding yet another country where we provide financing for measures that reduce energy use and emissions, the GGF has taken another step toward meeting its goals,” its chairman Christopher Knowles said.
“By signing the agreement with GGF, we are beginning the implementation of the first energy efficiency loan product in Montenegro’s microfinance sector. With all these measures our clients will directly reduce their household or business costs. We believe that this is the only beginning of our cooperation with the GGF because we expect that awareness about the importance of energy efficiency will improve over time in our country,” stated Alter Modus’s chief executive Ana Kentera.
Knowles: By adding yet another country where we provide financing for measures that reduce energy use and emissions, the GGF has taken another step toward meeting its goals.
The Green for Growth Fund invests in measures designed to cut energy use and carbon dioxide emissions by a minimum of 20% in 19 markets across Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Moldova, the Middle East and North Africa. Local partners that on-lend, while the GGF also invests directly in small to mid-size renewable energy projects. It was initiated as a public–private partnership in December 2009 by Germany’s KfW Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, with financial support from the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Austrian development bank OeEB.
The fund’s investor base comprises donor agencies, international financial institutions and institutional private investors, including the International Finance Corporation, the Dutch development bank FMO, the German ethical bank GLS, and Church of Sweden. The GGF is privately managed by Oppenheim Asset Management Services S.à r.l. of Luxembourg, and advised by Finance in Motion GmbH. MACS Management and Consulting Services GmbH, based in Frankfurt, acts as the technical advisor.
Alter Modus is specialized in providing financial services tailored to the needs of micro and small businesses and entrepreneurs. It has been operating for more than 17 years in Montenegro, working from its head office located in Podgorica and 15 branches and sub-branches in the country. The institution says it has over 19,000 clients.
