The Green Guarantee Company (GGC), managed by the Development Guarantee Group (DGG), has closed its first two transactions mobilising USD 70 million to support the Mission 300 initiative led by the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank.
The two transactions include a USD 20 million framework guarantee to Bank of Africa UK supporting the development of mini-grids in Nigeria, as part of the DARES programme, a flagship initiative between the World Bank Group and the Government of Nigeria, managed by the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency. ImpactA Global are co-lenders alongside the GGC-guaranteed facility.
The second transaction includes a USD 50 million guarantee for a green bond to be listed on the International Securities Market of the London Stock Exchange. The guarantee was arranged by Standard Chartered for a mix of UK and US institutional investors including Legal & General, Calvert Impact Capital and Ceniarth. It was provided to fund a SPV to on-lend to securitisation vehicles set up by African Frontier Capital (AFC), backed by receivables from distributed solar assets across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
The loans under the Bank of Africa USD 20 million framework guarantee will be supporting developers to provide around ~340,000 people with new or improved energy access and 13 MW of renewable energy capacity installed equivalent to ~250,000 tCO2e avoided per year.
The USD 50 million green bond guarantee supporting AFC’s distributed solar portfolio will initially support d.light’s existing PAYGO receivables securitisation platforms and is expected to expand access to clean energy for around 4.3 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa. The bond will recycle DFI and MDB capital, supporting the establishment of a replicable private financing solution to scale energy access. The bond also benefitted from a Second Party Opinion from Sustainable Fitch, and technical assistance support from the Global Green Growth Institute, through the Global Trust Fund, and the FCDO MOBILIST programme.
“We are proud to have closed the Green Guarantee Company’s first two transactions, a major milestone in mobilising climate finance and accelerating sustainable investment. We are grateful to our partners for bringing these impactful deals to market and laying the groundwork for many more transformative transactions as we continue scaling our impact and mobilising capital where it is needed most. We also sincerely thank our shareholders, the Green Climate Fund, KfW, FCDO through its MOBILIST programme, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, and Norfund, as well as the GGC Board, whose support and shared vision have made this achievement possible.”
Lasitha Perera | Chief Executive Officer of the Development Guarantee Group
"I am delighted that GGC has started to close its first transactions and has started to build a track record in the global capital markets as the emerging markets climate-focused guarantor, unlocking capital for a sustainable future. GGC has a very strong project pipeline in EMDEs that will no doubt contribute to mobilise global capital markets and provide affordable long-term financing to unlock climate investment in countries where it is most needed.”
Christopher Marks | Chairman of the GGC Board
“This transaction demonstrates how innovative capital markets structures can mobilise private capital for high-impact climate solutions. By combining a bond private placement with an investment grade third party financial guarantee, we are supporting the expansion of distributed solar energy and helping improve access to clean power across Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Rob Mason | Senior Originator | Debt Capital Markets Africa of Standard Chartered
“This transaction is a significant step forward in demonstrating how private capital can be mobilised at scale to support distributed renewable energy across Africa. By combining AFC’s operating track record with GGC’s guarantee and Standard Chartered’s capital markets expertise, we were able to connect international institutional investors with a proven portfolio of African assets. We believe this transaction establishes an important blueprint for future capital markets financing in the sector and are proud to have partnered with GGC on one of its inaugural transactions.”
Eric De Moudt | CEO of the African Frontier Capital
"We are proud to partner with the Green Guarantee Company on this landmark transaction, which reflects our commitment to mobilising international capital in support of Africa’s energy transition. This transaction highlights the Bank of Africa UK’s ability to structure and mobilise capital for high‑impact projects across Africa for the wellbeing of African people."
Said Adren | CEO of the Bank of Africa UK plc
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