DRC: at the COP28, Rawbank announces $20m for biodiversity and clean energy

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the commercial bank Rawbank is to provide $20 million to finance the energy transition and forest protection. The announcement was made from Dubai, where the financial group is attending COP28.

Rawbank, considered to be the largest financial institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is feeling the effects of the global debate on climate financing, which is being widely discussed at the 28th United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP28). In Dubai, the financial institution based in the capital Kinshasa announced the release of 20 million dollars in partnership with the Swiss energy group Vitol. The funds are intended to support the implementation of renewable energy and biodiversity projects.

“The aim is to reduce CO₂ emissions by 75 million tonnes over the next 10 years,” says the bank, headed by Mazhar Rawji. As part of its commitment to environmental responsibility, the package aims to accelerate the electrification of 1 million households in both urban and rural areas, using renewable sources such as solar power. According to the World Bank’s 2020 report, the DRC has less than 20% access to electricity.

The first beneficiaries will be the populations of the northern city of Gemena and the province of Kasai, where armed conflicts are compromising access to basic services. In these two urban areas, Rawbank’s financing will enable the production of a combined green energy capacity of 1,000 MW, including the installation of an 800 MW hydroelectric power station and solar panels totalling 200 MW.

Climate finance in action

The banking operator will also support investments in sustainable forest management. The DRC is home to the planet’s second green lung, “a carbon sink estimated at 1.5 billion tonnes of CO₂, almost half of Europe’s total emissions”. The other part of the $20 million announced will therefore be used to step up conservation activities for the animal and plant species living in this ecosystem.

This is not the first time that Rawbank has shown an interest in supporting the ecological transition in this Central African country with a population of 95 million. In 2022, the commercial bank announced that it was going to finance the deployment of 200 EcoBike electric bicycles from the start-up Mopepe Solutions in Kinshasa, Goma, Lubumbashi and Kolwezi to coincide with Car Free Day. The initiative should help to limit the use of combustion-powered vehicles, which are the source of pollution in these major cities.