Climate bank on-lending · Kenya
How Proparco and Equity Bank directed $20 million of a $100 million loan towards climate projects (and what it reveals about accessing green finance in Kenya)
A Kenyan business seeking climate finance may not need to start with a development finance institution overseas. Proparco’s $100 million loan to Equity Bank Kenya placed capital with a local lender, with $20 million dedicated to projects with climate co-benefits. The practical route in was the bank—not a direct application for the entire institutional facility.
- Structure
- $100m loan; $20m climate allocation
- Announcement / approval
- October 2020
- Sources checked
- 15 October 2026
The capital route
- 1Proparco / AFD Group
- 2Equity Bank Kenya
- 3Eligible SMEs, including climate projects
What the sources confirm
- Proparco announced a $100m loan to Equity Bank Kenya in October 2020 to support Kenyan SMEs under the Choose Africa initiative.
- The announcement explicitly earmarked $20m of the $100m for projects with climate co-benefits; it did not classify the whole facility as climate finance.
- The announcement expected support for around 240 MSMEs and more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. These were anticipated outcomes, not verified totals of businesses financed.
The financial mechanism
The instrument is a loan to a financial intermediary. Proparco supplies institution-level funding, and Equity Bank originates and assesses qualifying borrower loans. A dedicated climate allocation gives part of the bank funding a defined purpose without turning the business loan into a grant. This announcement does not establish a first-loss layer or a borrower-wide collateral exemption. Separate guarantee transactions should not be presented as terms of this loan.
Who should you approach?
Contact Equity Bank Kenya about current business-finance products and ask how the proposed investment meets any applicable climate criteria. Describe the adaptation or mitigation benefit, capital requirement and repayment source. Proparco is the institutional funding partner in this precedent; the local bank is the borrower-facing channel.
What this precedent does not establish
This is a historical financing precedent from 2020, not a claim that the original $20m allocation remains available today. The climate portion is $20m, not $100m. Eligibility, pricing, tenor, currency and security must be confirmed with Equity Bank for the current product.
What to prepare for a financing discussion
Our practical checklist, not the provider’s formal eligibility rules.
- Business financial statements and a credible repayment forecast
- Specific investment budget and requested loan amount
- Evidence of the project’s climate benefit and any baseline data
- Country, operating history and SME eligibility
- Security and supporting documents requested by the bank