International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced that it will assist Fransabank Group extend financing to clean energy and energy efficient technology companies. The initiative is supported by Canada.

This is IFC’s first investment to promote the financing of sustainable energy technology in the local market. It will provide a combined financial package of $13 million to Fransabank and its leasing arm, the Lebanese Leasing Company (LLC). The package includes around $4.5 million from the IFC-Canada Climate Change Program.

“Loans are subsidized by the Central Bank (BDL) according to the BDL’s terms and conditions with regards to subsidy, sector, energy, and environment,” said Tony Zarifeh, Head of Small and Medium Enterprises Department at Fransabank.

The package will help Fransabank scale up its lending operations to companies keen to purchase or invest in green technology, while LLC will focus on leasing related equipment to small and medium businesses.

The targeted projects should be in renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable energy, solar water heaters, projects with low energy consumption, and projects with low emissions of carbon dioxide, according to Zarifeh,

“The introduction of sustainable energy finance into SME, corporate, and leasing activities is part of our Go Green Strategy,” said Adnan Kassar, Chairman of Fransabank Group.

The IFC will also provide specialist advice to build the capacity of Fransabank and LLC, to develop sustainable energy financing operations that target a range of clientele, including small and medium businesses.

Aftab Ahmed, IFC regional Director for Financial Institutions and Private Equity Group said: “By extending our long-term partnership with Fransabank, we are giving businesses the chance to embrace renewable energy, invest in the future of Lebanon, and reduce the effects of climate change.”

“Conditions applied to this kind of loans will be similar to other green loans provided by Fransabank,” said Zarifeh.