African Development Bank issues Green Bond in Norwegian Market

The African Development Bank has issued a 1 billion Norwegian krona (NOK) 5-year Green Bond due March 2028.

The bond was issued on Thursday 2 March and marks the Bank’s first green bond issuance in the Norwegian krona market. This follows successful green bond issuances in US dollars (USD), Swedish krona (SEK), Australian dollar (AUD), since the Bank established its Green Bond framework in 2013, and three NOK social bonds issued in 2019 and 2021.

The funds raised through this transaction will be used to finance eligible green projects in accordance with the African Development Bank’s Green Bond Program for the purpose of supporting African countries’ transition to green growth.

The bond proceeds will contribute to building resilience against the negative impacts of climate change, achieving sustainable infrastructure, developing ecosystems and promoting efficient and sustainable use of natural resources such as water, a sector particularly vulnerable to climate change across the continent.

This transaction emphasizes the Bank’s continued focus on delivering on its Ten-Year Strategy whose overarching objectives are inclusive growth and transition to green growth. It also illustrates the Bank’s consistent effort to commit to its role as one of the main actors of climate finance in Africa, particularly in the Sustainable Water and Wastewater Management sector, which represents 28% of Bank’s green pipeline as of 31 December 2022. This is particularly relevant considering the forthcoming UN 2023 Water conference in New York(link is external), which aims to focus the world’s attention on the topic of water and the critical role it plays in delivering on the entire sustainable development agenda.

Commenting on the bond issuance, Kristin Lien, Senior Portfolio Manager, Kommunalbanken, said: “Kommunalbanken is delighted to support African Development Bank’s first Green Bond in the Norwegian market. It represents a great alignment of both our own and AfDB’s objective of mobilizing capital to finance the transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient future.  We hope the success of this transaction will encourage other development finance institutions to raise more funding in the Norwegian Green Bond market in the future.”

Keith Werner, Division Manager, Capital Markets and Financial Operations, African Development Bank said: “As a pioneering participant in the ESG market, the African Development Bank is pleased to launch its inaugural Green Bond in the Norwegian market in collaboration with SEB in order to support the Bank’s commitment towards addressing the devastating effects of climate change in Africa while extending its investor reach in the Nordic market. This 15^th Green Bond, issued under the Bank’s Green Bond framework, highlights the Bank’s consistent investments in sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, biosphere conservation, but in particular, as we approach the UN’s Water Conference later this month, the increasingly important sector of sustainable water & wastewater management.”

“We are proud to assist AfDB’s continued expansion into new areas of the green finance market and support the delivery of their green growth strategy in Africa. Later this month at the UN Water conference in New York we will be reminded of how water plays such a critical role in delivering on the sustainable development agenda, so it’s a great opportunity to highlight AfDB’s financing in this sector which represents close to a third of their green pipeline,” said Ben Powell, Head of Sustainable Debt Capital Markets, SEB.