CAL BANK 2018: A new loan to support the private sector in Ghana and finance renewable energy projects

CAL Bank is a Ghanaian commercial bank set up in 1990. It obtained a universal bank license in 2004. It plays a major role in Ghana’s financial sector by offering corporate and investment banking services to large companies. It also has retail banking and asset management activities.

This USD 30m loan aims to support CAL’s growth. At least a third of this credit line will be earmarked to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

In Ghana, despite a well-established regulatory framework for the development of the renewable energy sector, the implementation of projects comes up against a major barrier: the lack of local access to long-term credit. However, the first solar projects have been coming into being since 2016, in a context of (i) political impetus following the Paris Agreement and (ii) the reduction in the cost of solar production compared to costly thermal energy.

About a third of PROPARCO’s credit line is earmarked to finance climate, renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Two pilot projects will be eligible for this dedicated credit line: (i) a solar power plant project (ii) an industrial energy efficiency project. This is one of the first financing operations for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects conducted by Cal Bank.

In the context of the development of CAL’s activity, PROPARCO’s support could allow the bank to maintain 755 jobs and create an additional 60% of positions by 2022.