The CEEF innovative partial guarantee structure is expected to leverage over $225 million in private capital investments in energy efficiency. Such investment will contribute to the competitiveness of the economies of the countries involved as well as improve local and global environmental conditions. The facility represents an important tool to support each of the national strategies for meeting European Union accession goals and targets.
The project is different from other approaches taken in the region to promote energy efficiency because of its focus on mobilizing private capital investment through commercially-based investment, and establishing sustainable commercial lending businesses which are not dependent upon IFC in the medium term.
CEEF is designed to ensure a lasting developmental impact by building a self-sustaining market for financing EE investment.
The project works through multiple FI partners in seeking to catalyze investment across a broad range of end-user groups and market segments. In addition, the project's technical assistance component is targeted at building energy efficiency finance expertise in the financial sector and among local project developers.
By lowering barriers to local FIs entering the EE financing market, the CEEF program helps to increase the local financial sectors' experience and capacity to provide EE project finance on an ongoing, and eventually, on an independent basis. The case of the Hungary pilot has demonstrated this evolution already, whereby five years after the program's inception, FIs are now independently financing entire sectors of the EE projects types for which they previously sought the program's support.
