Undaunted by the raging facts of climate change in its home region of West Africa, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development EBID has stepped up a robust integration of sustainability into its operations by creating an environmental, social, and governance ESG financing framework. Adopted in early 2023, this defines the criteria the Bank applies in evaluating and structuring projects in the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS region, whose population of about 450m is spread among the 15 states of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
This development points to EBID's commitment to transparency and accountability in sustainable finance. The inspiring EBID ESG financing framework initiative sets out to achieve the integration of environmental protection, social impact, and governance principles into every stage of investment in line with the shift of global priorities towards cleaner, more resilient economies and sustainable transformation. It has received a positive independent opinion from a globally recognised rating agency, ISS ESG Solutions.
Powered by the same innovative dynamic, the EBID made history by being the first development finance institution DFI to issue the innovative, inclusive and historic green, social, and sustainable GSS bond known as the "GSS Bond BIDC-EBID 6.50 2024-2031" on the West African regional stock exchange Bourse Rgionale des Valeurs Mobilires, BRVM in November 2024. This raised an impressive 70bn CFA francs 100m, 125m in less than five days, confirming strong investor confidence in the EBID green portfolio and the enhanced appetite for sustainable investment in the ECOWAS region.
