Uganda Development Bank

UDB’s Patricia Ojangole Wins Global Award for Leadership in Sustainability... UDB and it's Managing Director were awarded the Sustainability Leader of the Year Award for demonstrating exceptional leadership in mainstreaming sustainability and making a recognizable impact. Read full story: https://lnkd.in/dRG_ngUW #UDBhere4U #UDBestinEA

Uganda Development Bank supports businesses and projects through key non-financial interventions. Can you guess which ones? 📌 Question: What two key Non-Financial Interventions does UDB offer to support businesses and projects? a) Financial Advisory and Loan Management b) Business Accelerator and Project Preparation c) Trade Finance and Equity Investment d) Asset Financing and Project Finance 💡 Comment your answers below! #UBDKnowYourCredit #UDBNafunamu #UDBestinEA #UDBhere4U

UDB and PIDG held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of COP29 to explore joint funding programs in the energy and other infrastructure space. UDB Managing Director Patrica Ojangole and PIDG Chief Sustainable Impact Officer Marco Serena led the meeting. PIDG provided context on how UDB can tap into its products, such as equity and debt investments, project preparation facilities, and guarantees. UDBL agreed to share the pipeline of available projects to enable further discussions. UDB seeks to work with PIDG to bridge financing gaps, directing capital and expertise into projects that promote climate resilience and sustainable growth. Working throughout the project lifecycle, PIDG reduces financial risk, transforms markets, and builds local capacity. #UDBHere4U #UDBestinEA

UDB and the European Investment Bank have a partnership spanning over 5 years, with recent engagements to finance climate-responsive investments. To further cement this relationship, a team from UDB led by Managing Director Patricia Ojangole held a courtesy meeting with Thouraya Triki, the Director International Partners Department, on the sideline of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Thouraya emphasized how Uganda’s climate interventions are essential, reiterating that their focus is on the successful implementation of the projects to create a much-needed impact in deserving communities. UDB is strongly committed to accelerating climate neutrality through financing climate-responsive and green projects. #UDBHere4U #UDBestinEA

JUST IN: Uganda Development Bank and its Managing Director, Patricia Ojangole, have been honored for the fourth consecutive year with the Sustainability Leader of the Year Award at the esteemed Annual Karlsruhe Sustainable Finance Awards. This Award is given to individuals or institutions that demonstrate exceptional leadership in driving business performance through creating social, economic and environmental values and globally advancing sustainable finance. Additionally, the Bank received the SSCI Version 2 - Level 5, which is the highest level of sustainability excellence under the Sustainability Standards and Certification Initiative (SSCI). #UDBHere4U #UDBestinEA

Catalyzing the energy transition through renewables UDB met with GEAPP to discuss areas of strategic partnership to accelerate the green energy transition to end energy poverty in Uganda. The UDB and GEAPP partnership would include expanding access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity for the hardest-to-reach communities, ultimately reducing carbon emissions. Joseph Ng'ang'a, the Vice President of Africa, emphasized that GEAPP focuses on energy efficiency and alternative energy, accentuating focus on the mini-grids. UDB has made significant strides in expanding energy efficiency by providing financial support for new and renewable electricity generation. Some projects include the 20MW/AC Xsabo Nkonge Solar Power Plant in Kabulasoke and the 50MW/AC Xsabo Lira Solarline. The projects offer a significantly reduced cost of generation at USD7.1 cents per kWh, compared to many independent power producers in the country selling power at over USD10 cents per kWh. Xsabo Nkonge Solar Power Plant comprises 22.7 MWp DC [equivalent to 20MW AC] mounted with a Horizontal Tracking System with Backtracking. The solar power park is a 140-acre stretch of land, of which 98 acres are occupied with photovoltaic solar modules placed in arrays to harness solar radiation and convert it to electric power, which is supplied to the national grid through the existing 132/33kV UETCL Nkonge substation. Nganga emphasized the criticality of demand and supply, accreditation, and partnership for growth. #UDB_COP29

HIGHLIGHTS: Fostering Partnerships for a Greener Future 🌱 At COP29, UDB convened a high-level Climate Finance Breakfast Roundtable, uniting leaders in sustainability and finance to drive climate action in Africa. Led by MD Patricia Ojangole, the discussions emphasized innovative strategies and partnerships for funding green projects. Together, we’re shaping a sustainable tomorrow. #UDB_COP29

On the sidelines of COP29 in Azerbaijan, UDB met with the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)’s Director for Project Facilitation and Support, Ahmed Badr, and Deputy Director for Project Facilitation and Support. The conversation centered around how the two agencies can collaborate to advance energy transition. The bilateral meeting was an opportunity to understand IRENA’s footprint and program-based approach, aligning with UDB’s model. IRENA is an intergovernmental organization that facilitates cooperation, advances knowledge, and promotes the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. It is the first international organization to focus exclusively on renewable energy, addressing needs in industrialized and developing countries. UDB highlighted some of its projects in areas of interest to IRENA, among them waste management, water transport, and mass transport, with renewable energy being the overarching element. One of the innovative interventions is solar floating panels that power water vessels in a more cost-effective, energy-efficient manner with less emissions. IRENA expressed willingness to partner with UDB by supporting the bank’s pipeline that aligns with the Agency’s focus areas. The other areas highlighted for potential collaboration are knowledge and research, especially in green financing, which is a relatively burgeoning industry. As a Bank, UDB values knowledge and research as catalysts for well-structured and impactful interventions. #UDB_COP29

Uganda Development Bank held discussions with a team from the Adaptation Fund following a similar engagement during COP28 last year. The meeting with Silvia Mancini - Lead of the Countries and Partnerships Unit, focused on the bank’s ongoing process of acquiring the Fund’s accreditation. Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed over 1.2 billion to climate change adaptation and resilience projects and programs, including 176 concrete, localized projects in the most vulnerable communities of developing countries worldwide, with over 45 million total beneficiaries. The Adaptation Fund mainly supports projects that aim to enhance resilience to climate shocks and reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change. UDB already supports such projects, especially in agriculture, through irrigation and drought—and pest-resistant seeds. The Bank has already prepared a pipeline of potential adaptation-related projects that require funding. Such strategic partnerships are essential for UDB in terms of accessing funding opportunities presented by the Adaptation Fund and enhancing the Bank’s credibility, thus attracting more green financing investment. Green projects make up 15 percent of UDB’s total project portfolio in the three-year period since the bank rolled out its green financing interventions targeting projects in low-carbon industrialization, green manufacturing, and climate-resilient infrastructure. UDB_COP29 #UDB_COP29

Partnering for climate change solutions! The Uganda Development Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa are exploring innovative partnerships to boost climate investment in climate-resilient projects.  During a meeting on the sidelines of COP29, UDB and DBSA agreed to identify, structure projects and co-finance transformative green projects in key priority areas such as waste management, mass public transport using electric buses The institutions highlighted the availability of concessional funding opportunities with Green climate funds such as Green Climate Fund and Green Environment Fund that UDB can explore with the support of DBSA which is already accredited by GCF. #UDB_COP29