Proparco Provides USD 30 Million to Sterling Bank

Proparco is providing a USD 30 million financing package for Sterling Bank to expand on-lending to renewable energy and small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises.

The package takes the form of a credit line with USD 24 million earmarked for renewable energy projects, primarily off-grid solar solutions, and the remaining USD 6 million allocated to financing small and medium-sized agricultural businesses.

Sterling Bank already offers financing that helps households and businesses purchase solar equipment. Separately, the lender received a USD 13 million loan through the UGEAP program, managed by Cygnum Capital, to finance household solar systems, mini-grids, and commercial and industrial solar installations.

Proparco provided the USD 30 million credit line as part of its development finance mandate; the UGEAP tranche is structured as a direct loan under a program managed by Cygnum Capital. Sterling Bank will on-lend both facilities to retail and commercial borrowers active in distributed solar and to eligible agricultural SMEs.

Combined, the two facilities total USD 43 million, with USD 37 million designated for distributed solar and USD 6 million for agricultural SMEs, increasing Sterling Bank's available capital for household, mini-grid, and commercial solar lending.