PostBank staff equipped on green financing initiatives

PostBank Uganda, which is rebranding to Pearl Bank, has collaborated with Adelphi to provide a 3-day hands-on capacity building initiative for its staff, designed to enable them to gain insights into the good global practices as the bank nears gaining its sustainability certification.

The bank’s purpose is to foster prosperity for Ugandans, which is implemented through its high-impact goals: driving sustainable financial inclusion and stimulating entrepreneurship and service. Through these, the bank can extend innovative financial services and products that facilitate their participation in economic activities that inspire growth and development.

As part of the Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator‘s (UGEFA) Green Finance Academy, which is fully funded by the European Union Delegation to Uganda and implemented by Adelphi, about 30 PostBank staff have become the latest beneficiaries of the sustainability training, which aims at accelerating the understanding of green finance in Uganda’s financial sector.

The training, held at the Onomo Hotel, explored topics related to green finance opportunities, ensuring the effective delivery of finance to bankable green SMEs, thereby scaling the businesses’ positive environmental, social, and economic impacts.

Head of Public Sector at PostBank Uganda, Carolyn Andama, commended UGEFA for being at the forefront of championing sustainable initiatives that are delivered through tailored trainings, especially for the financial sector, as banks play a key role in financing a number of initiatives that contribute to the overall sustainability practices.

“Financial institutions like PostBank, avail capital through loans, grants, among other financial instruments, which can influence industries by funding sustainable initiatives, driving decarbonization, and addressing social challenges like poverty or inequality, which all lay a foundation to the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are part of the 2030 sustainable development agenda,” she said. Adding “Due to the global shift towards sustainability, it is therefore important that we align the bank’s activities to the global sustainability agenda as the demand for green and social finance products is increasing, which enables us to tap into growing markets, attract eco-conscious investors and businesses that champion sustainable practices.”

The 3-day training delivered to the PostBank staff centered on defining the green finance context, understanding green SMEs, mapping green finance instruments, assessing climate risk & opportunities, portfolio & target market analysis, and designing green finance instruments. The outlined areas equipped and deepened the team’s understanding of the concept of green finance, the role of the banking sector, and related financial growth opportunities.

Christine Meyer, Project Lead of UGEFA and Head of Programme Green Entrepreneurship at adelphi, applauded PostBank Uganda for creating a platform for training their staff on sustainable initiatives that are aligned to the global sustainability agenda. “We provide tailored training to financial institutions and collaborate with them to facilitate the flow of green finance into Uganda’s SME sector,” she said. “Together with our partner banks, we navigate climate risks and leverage green finance opportunities.”

Meyer also noted that through their joint funding facility, they harness the potential of green SMEs to deliver positive social and environmental impacts. “We are looking forward to jointly driving forward the sustainable development agenda with committed partners like PostBank,” she remarked.

PostBank continues to harness sustainable banking practices evident from its recognition at the Agricultural Credit Facility (ACF), held in June this year, where it received several accolades in line with its deliberate and consistent efforts to boost agricultural financing among other sectors by modifying its financing solutions to inspire economic development.