The funds will be available for green investments in the country’s residential sector. This will include investments in high-performance green technologies, materials and solutions undertaken in privately-owned residential dwellings or buildings.
Andi Aranitasi, EBRD Head of North Macedonia, said: “We are pleased to expand our green activities in North Macedonia and to welcome Komercijalna Banka Skopje on board. Supporting green investments is one of our key priorities and we are glad that the largest Macedonian bank is joining us in this endeavour. Connected to this, overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and building back the economy are also our focus. Green recovery is one of the ways to heal the economy and this loan is a step in that direction.”
Komercijalna Banka Skopje is the largest bank in North Macedonia and the fifth bank in the country to join GEFF. The programme in North Macedonia is part of the EBRD’s €85 million Western Balkans Green Economy Financing Facility launched in 2017, a joint initiative by the European Union (EU), the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance and beneficiary countries cooperating under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF).
As of the end of November 2020, GEFF in North Macedonia has reached almost 1.600 households and provided loans of more than €11 million for almost 1.600 individual projects that contributed to savings of over 7 million kWh of energy and a reduction of over 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
The most frequently financed technologies are windows and doors, insulation and heat pumps.
GEFF is implemented under the umbrella of the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme for the Western Balkans (REEP Plus), funded by the EU and implemented in partnership with the Energy Community Secretariat.
REEP Plus has also delivered policy support for harmonising North Macedonia’s law on energy efficiency and regulations for energy efficiency in buildings with the relevant European directives.
The EBRD is a major institutional investor in North Macedonia. To date, it has invested €2 billion in 137 projects in the country. Supporting green energy is a priority for the Bank as it addresses one of the country’s most pressing challenges.
