KCB Group has launched its Sustainability Bond Framework paving way for KCB Bank Kenya to raise up to Sh300 billion Spread over five years.
The Medium-Term Note Programme was unveiled on Wednesday in Nairobi during the bank’s PowerTalk event with the framework dedicated to green, blue and social projects.
Speaking at the unveiling, KCB Group CEO Paul Russo indicated that the sustainability framework reflects a key change in how the lender thinks about capital allocation.
“Players like us are being challenged to determine how much capital we mobilise, but where that capital goes, what it enables and the lasting impact it creates,” Russo said.
The significant bond programme, which KCB says is subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions, will ring-fence the proceeds for three specific categories.
Under the green component, funds will support renewable energy, energy-efficient buildings, clean transportation, sustainable agriculture and water management.
The blue component targets projects that fortify the resilience of marine, coastal and freshwater ecosystems.
The social category will finance affordable housing, MSMEs, and women and youth-led enterprises, and will build on lessons from KCB Foundation’s 2Jiajiri initiative.
Russo revealed that independent rating agency Moody’s reviewed the bond framework and awarded it a Sustainability Quality Score of 2, rated “Very Good,” and says this reinforces the bank’s transparency and alignment with global standards.
KCB traces its sustainability push back to 2008, when it anchored the agenda around financial, economic, social and environmental pillars.
The bank published its first Sustainability Report in 2009 and says it has since aligned its work with 14 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, up from nine in 2017.
Other milestones include adopting the UNEP Finance Initiative’s Principles for Responsible Banking in 2019 and becoming the first Kenyan bank accredited by the Green Climate Fund in 2020.
KCB Group has also boasts committing to Net Zero by 2050 through the Net-Zero Banking Alliance in 2021, as well as joining the Forward Faster Initiative in 2023.
Russo said the framework is meant to be judged by outcomes rather than the size of the bond.
“The true measure of sustainable finance is not the size of the bond, but the scale of the impact it creates.
“We want the legacy of this framework to be measured not in the amount raised, but in the lives improved, businesses strengthened, ecosystems protected, jobs created and opportunities unlocked.”
