Short description of the overall project

The Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe (GGF) signed a loan agreement with Čačanska banka a.d. Čačak in Serbia to fund the Bank's energy efficiency loan program. This is the GGF's first loan to a financial institution in Serbia. The loan will help businesses and private households in Serbia reduce their energy costs and consumption, implement cleaner production projects and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The GGF loan will provide Čačanska banka with the long-term financing necessary for the type of energy efficiency projects it is planning to support, including: replacement of old windows and doors, upgrading of heating systems and insulation in households, insulation of business premises, utilization of renewable energy sources through solar collectors and geothermal pumps, reduction of reactive power consumption, waste heat recovery, and the replacement of old or inefficient production plant and equipment.

Čačanska banka has significant experience and expertise in providing energy efficiency finance, and is one of the first banks in Serbia to provide energy efficiency loans. Since 2008, the Bank has benefitted from a credit line from KfW Entwicklungsbank (The German Development Bank), which has been used for energy efficiency projects in the SME, micro and retail segments. In just two years it has financed more than 150 projects totalling EUR 5 million for business and retail clients.

The GGF loan is complemented by a technical assistance package that provides the Bank with capacity building assistance on the operational aspects of implementing energy efficiency finance products. This will include, among others, a joint awareness raising campaign on the benefits of energy efficiency measures. The technical assistance support will be funded by the GGF's technical assistance arm, the GGF Technical Assistance Facility.