Green entrepreneurs call for local credit reforms

Local entrepreneurs operating firms in the recycle, reuse industry have bemoaned the slow evolution of financing products citing this as a handicap that short-circuits their growth.

According to the entrepreneurs, who met at the recently ended global climate change summit held Gaborone, investment goals have changed to accommodate climate change but banking products aren’t evolving as fast.

Local entrepreneur, Lettie Pitlagano of Digby Wells Environmental said despite global advancements on the importance of climate change focused enterprises, locally not so much funding has been availed to aid the mission of such enterprises.

Pitlagano said banks and other financial institutions still see them as risky enterprises which often time impedes their business operations. “Financers should incentivise climate change enterprises, rates should be adjusted and more banking products must be created to match the ever evolving needs of the global community,” she said.

Meanwhile, Stanbic bank’s Head of Citizen Economic Empowerment, Kushata Chilisa said the banking industry is trying to catch up with the fast changing needs of green entrepreneurs.

According to Chilisa, the creation of avenues such as green bonds, solar power financing should be able to chip in and help incentivise entrepreneurs to pursue the green mandate.

“We are looking towards an era of green loans, green bonds and green financing. In my experience banks are usually given facilities by international organisations to extend to local entrepreneurs and we just become the fund managers,” she said.

For ESG specialist, Lindiwe Modise, government must allow green entrepreneurs to take over some environmental functions such as waste collection and waste processing. She is of the view that when government starts seeing waste as a resource, more opportunities will open up for green entrepreneurs.

“Government is not moving at pace; we need to enforce a paradigm shift that changes attitudes towards waste. Waste is a resource that generates money and government should allow entrepreneurs to take charge of the whole value chain,” Modise said.

Internationally there has been commitments on restraining the rise in global warming going forward, the richer nations whose development has led the planet to the crisis and keeps it on the brink even today, pledged in 2009 to make $100 billion annually available to developing countries to tackle the climate crisis. The funding is designed to help Africa adapt to and mitigate climate change.