The Environmental Business Finance Program's (EBFP) financial support is provided on market terms to financial intermediaries for the benefit of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in global environmental activities. Funding support includes:
Direct Loans and Credit Lines
Partial Guarantees, potentially in a first-loss position
EBFP financing is structured to mitigate the real or perceived risks associated with entering an unknown market and may include a performance bonus.
Grant Funds
EBFP recognizes the need to strengthen the capacity of financial intermediaries to be able to adequately attract and service eligible SMEs. For this reason, grant funds may be provided to financial intermediaries that have demonstrated a commitment to financing eligible SMEs, as well as to sector participants and business development services (eg. consulting and advisory firms) that support EBFP's environmental objectives.
The use of grant funds may include, but are not limited to, the following:
Design and implementation of technical assistance programs that help financial intermediaries identify new environmental business prospects, analyze and review financing applications, and monitor and evaluate their portfolio
Market assessments to understand market dynamics and identify opportunities
Enhancement of the knowledge and skills base of business development services and capacity building programs that work directly with SMEs
Grant funds are only provided to financial intermediaries or market players as part of a financing program.
Monitoring and Evaluation
EBFP monitors the environmental performance of all projects using benchmarks and evaluation criteria established at the inception of the project. Lessons learned are used to support the development of new investment opportunities.