ImpactAlpha, September 8 – U.K. development agency British International Investment made a $25 million loan to NMB Bank to boost the bank’s renewable energy lending capacity in Nepal. The aim is to help Nepal unlock its hydropower potential.
Nepal has developed just 2.3 gigawatts of its 43-gigawatt hydropower generation potential.
BII’s loan is expected to enable NMB to finance 50 megawatts of new clean energy projects.
Power crisis
Nepal experiences consistent power shortfalls and is heavily dependent on imports from India, particularly in the dry season. The country has long seen hydropower “as an important cornerstone of its poverty reduction and economic growth strategy,” cites a report from the Asia Development Bank, which is supporting grid modernization in Nepal.
Green infrastructure
Separately, Italy’s development finance institution Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, or CDP, provided a €100 million loan to the Africa Finance Corp. for renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate resilient infrastructure projects.
