The building, which will be launched in May, is said to have achieved notable sustainability certifications, including EDGE Advanced Certification (Preliminary Certification), with impressive statistics such as 51% energy efficiency, 29% water savings, and 31% less embodied energy in materials.
Commenting on the development, RMB acting director, Harriet Mlalazi, said the ground-breaking deal is a first for the Botswana market, adding that through the transaction, RMB also provided advisory services to Barloworld as the sole arranger and lender.
“It was very interesting to fund this deal,” she said at a ceremony held at the Botswana Stock Exchange last week.
“We had to ensure that the sustainability certifications are achieved. “Sustainability is entrenched in our DNA; it is within our strategy pillar and a key part has been updating our governance framework to participate in various aspects of Environment Social and Governance. “It is also about upskilling our people to ensure that we understand and are invested in providing bespoke sustainable finance solutions.”
The bank’s green and sustainability journey started five years ago and RMB has already financed two projects including Barloworld.
“Five years we embarked on a five-year strategy which has a new element called shared prosperity where the sustainability came from. “We developed frameworks and policies that can start funding this area and even developed our team to understand this emerging area that we were embarking on. “We engaged our clients to make them aware of our other path of sustainability,” Mlalazi said.
She said as part of the bank’s sustainability journey, RMB recently acted as a senior lender, hedging bank, and account bank, providing 50% of the debt funding and P405 million in facilities for the landmark solar PV development in Mmadinare.
The transaction will see the developer, Scatec ASA, supplying 100% of the power produced by the project to Botswana Power Corporation under a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement. The project represents a first-of-its-kind transaction in Botswana in terms of the implementation of a large-scale utility renewable energy project and aligns with the government’s commitments to shifting the country’s energy mix to 30% renewable by 2030.
