The Development Bank of Namibia (DBN) says its currently negotiating a new credit facility with, KFW to fund climate and environmentally friendly projects in the country.
Negotiations with the German state-owned development bank come after it had initially secured N$240 million from KFW, which has now been exhausted.
“The amount that we initially secured for climate and environmentally friendly projects was N$240 million and that has been exhausted. We are now negotiation a new line of credit and unfortunately I cannot divulge the amount at the moment,” he DBN CEO Martin Inkumbi told The Brief.
Inkumbi, however, expressed concern about the limited number of environmentally friendly bankable projects in the country, despite the availability of capital.
“We have a challenge at the moment because we are not getting enough projects to fund, that’s why we are currently talking to entrepreneurs to come up with viable environmentally friendly projects,” he said.
“We call on engineers, architects, consultants and project managers to lean more towards energy and water efficient designs, and for businesses to approach the Bank for finance. Although you may have reservations about pitching new technologies and techniques, the Bank will give them consideration for finance if you can demonstrate their feasibility.”
Quizzed on the tenure of the facility, Inkumbi said,” the tenure of the loans is 10 years; however, this can be extended subject to board approval.”
Inkumbi said the bank had already pioneered financing models for renewable energy, and is now setting its sights on, energy and water use efficiency as well as mitigating the effects of rising temperatures.
“Bank has been financing large scale water infrastructure such as Neckartal Dam and Aqua Utilities which semi-purifies water for industrial use at Walvis Bay. In the face of prolonged droughts, there is an opportunity for enterprises to invest in water efficiency. Investing in technology and processes that are energy and water efficient, reduces the amount of energy and water consumption per output for a business, which lowers production and or operational costs and improve profitability,” he said.
“Although water efficiency will not alleviate drought, it can lead to improvements in enterprises bottom line, in addition to preserving the environment.”
On the topic of rising temperatures, Inkumbi noted that there is a twofold cost.
“The first cost is the cost of cooling facilities, and the second cost is the cost of mitigating health issues caused by rising heat. The cost of cooling facilities adds to the cost of an enterprise. It also places a burden on power generation. By constructing plants and facilities with heat dissipation in mind, these circumstances can be mitigated.”
“Incorporating heat dissipation, would reduce the cost of running a household as well as improving the health of its residents. This would dovetail well with the Bank’s finance for affordable housing projects.”
