Browsing: Dutch FMO

The financial sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has not been one of the most sought after in the continent. The DRC has 18 banks, five of which are local, four pan-African and nine foreign. The DRC’s ratio of bank assets to GDP at 7% lags regional peers, while only 7% of the population holds a bank account.

Similar to steps taken in markets such as Zambia and Ghana, the Central Bank of Congo (BCC) has directed that all banks must raise their minimum capital to $50 million by the end of 2020. Banks have a number of options, to sell and exit, to merge, to raise capital or to step down the regulatory hierarchy to be a non-bank lender or microfinance institution.

It is such a move that is seeing foreign banks seeking new partnerships and ventures to help them remain in business.

Dutch entrepreneurial development bank …

Dutch FMO and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have agreed to finance the construction and operation of two new solar photovoltaic plants in Kenya. EIB and FMO will each provide USD 53 million for the two projects, with the remainder of the USD 147 million total project cost provided by the project promoters Frontier Energy, David Langat, Chairman of the DL Group of Companies and Ayaz Merali, Managing Director of Paramount Bank.

The new Radiant and Eldosol projects are amongst the first to generate utility-scale solar power in East Africa. The two schemes will diversify Kenya’s electricity supply away from both rain-dependent hydro and fossil fuels, contribute to improving grid stability in Western Kenya and cater for expected increased in energy use in the coming years.

“As world leaders meet in New York to discuss future plans to save our planet, Kenya with EU support, is leading the way with …