GGF Marks Ten Years of Pioneering Climate Finance in Emerging Markets

The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) is celebrating ten years of advancing climate finance in Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and North Africa. Established in December 2009, the GGF was one of the first specialized vehicles to invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and resource efficiency measures in these regions. Now, after its first successful decade, the fund has unleashed EUR 1 billion in green finance to more than 35,000 loan recipients to reduce energy and resource consumption and expand the use of renewables. These investments are now saving over 3 million megawatt hours of energy, preventing the emission of over 850,000 tons of CO2, and sustainably managing more than 450,000 tons of water, waste, and resources each year.

The GGF was one of the pioneers of a layered fund structure that leverages public contributions to mobilize private capital toward green investments in its target regions. The fund mainly works through on-the-ground financial intermediaries that disburse loans to individuals and businesses for measures to improve energy and resource efficiency. The GGF also invests directly in renewable energy projects, such as the largest wind park in Ukraine and in Serbia as well as the first wind park in Georgia and the largest solar park in Egypt.