Under this initiative, the bank will fund projects with promising efforts to address the issue.

The disclosure was made on Monday 13th June 2022 during a meeting bringing together partners and clients to discuss possible avenues for the project’s implementation.

Targeted beneficiaries include individuals with conservation projects promising to address climate change, projects promoting off-grid energy and environment-friendly cooking fuel.

Other projects to benefit from the funding fall under the areas of agriculture and transport.

The efforts are expected to add up to Rwanda’s ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 38% by 2030.

The Head of Investment and Social Impact at Equity Bank, Dianah Mukundwa has revealed that the initiative is tailored to contribute to climate change mitigation.

“We have brought together our partners to exchange ideas and present our environmental conservation project aligning with the bank’s efforts to play a role in climate change mitigation,” she said.

Maxwell Gomera, the Country Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Rwanda said that governments cannot stand on their own to address the issue of climate change.

“We have discussed climate change related issues and needed efforts to tackle them. For instance, we need the annual budget of more than US$700 billion in Africa to meet the goal,” he said.

“African governments cannot easily afford the funds. This is why interventions from banks like Equity and members of the private sector are needed to fund these projects,” added Gomera.

Faustin Munyazikwiye, the Deputy Director General (DDG) of Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) thanked Equity Bank for taking the bold step to support conservation projects to deal with climate change effects, noting that it is a significant contribution to national efforts.

Rwanda has set an ambitious target of becoming a carbon neutral and climate resilient economy by 2050. In the short term, Rwanda aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 38% (4.6 million tons of carbon dioxide) by 2030.

The Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy is one of the national strategies and policies developed to help Rwanda reach its targets. Coupled with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Rwanda needs to mobilize at least US$ 11 billion through private, public funding and aid.

The country is projecting to reduce its dependence on the use of biomass from 79.9% in 2018 to 42% by the year 2024.