World Bank debuts $415m infrastructure finance facility to TDB
The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) has agreed a debut $415 million Regional Infrastructure Finance Facility to the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB).
The facility comprises a 19-year Scale-Up Facility credit line of $400 million, and a 38-year $15 million concessional technical assistance credit. This is the first time the World Bank’s IDA has extended such a facility to a regional development bank.
The facility complements another first for TDB – a MIGA-backed $359 million 10-year trade finance facility provided by by a consortium of lenders including Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, MUFG Securities and SMBC.
The combined funding will allow TDB to scale-up its financing of long-term infrastructure projects, particularly in the area of renewable energy, including among other targets, renewable generation and mini grids for industrial and commercial enterprises pursuing the electrification of nearby communities. And increased access to debt financing will be provided to SMEs, primarily to renewable energy SMEs which have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the technical assistance credit will serve to enhance TDB’s capacity in areas including environmental and social management, project preparation and portfolio management.
