Montreal, 5 November 2024 – FMO, FinDev Canada, and Proparco, the Dutch, Canadian, and French development finance institutions, announced the signing of a US$ 100 million syndicated facility to Genneia S.A, Argentina’s largest wind and solar power producer. Acting as lead arranger and facility agent, FMO contributed a total of US$ 30 million as lender to this facility. FinDev Canada, Canada’s bilateral Development Finance Institution, and Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement Group (AFD Group), contributed as lenders to this transaction with US$ 40 million and US$ 30 million, respectively. The funding will be used to finance the construction of two greenfield renewable energy projects: a 90 MW and 180MW photovoltaic solar plants.
This loan will enable Genneia to grow its renewable energy generation capacity by building two solar PV projects in the Malargüe and Luján de Cuyo municipalities in Argentina. Both projects will supply green electricity to corporate off takers, enabling these companies to meet their sustainability targets. The projects will add 270 MW of renewable energy, contributing to Argentina’s goal of increasing non-hydro renewable energy to 20% of the national energy mix by 2025.
The financing of two renewable energy projects will contribute to Genneia’s decarbonization strategy to reach carbon neutrality in 2030, thereby fully transitioning to wind and solar energy generation.
Huib-Jan de Ruijter, FMO’s Co-Chief Investment Officer, said, “We are thrilled to continue supporting our long-term client Genneia through long-term financing, whilst playing a critical role in climate mitigation, enabling Argentina’s renewable energy transition. While mobilizing these funds with FinDev Canada and Proparco, we aim at jointly maximizing our impact together with Genneia.”
Paulo Martelli, VP and Chief Investment Officer, FinDev Canada, said, “We are proud to be working once again with Genneia to enable Argentina's transition towards renewable energy. This second transaction highlights the strength of our partnership, and we look forward to continuing to build on this relationship and enabling Genneia to make a significant impact in the region, while also working with Proparco and FMO.”
Scarlett Carré de Malberg, Deputy Head – Lending operations at Proparco, said: “Proparco is delighted to support Genneia, a leading Argentine player committed to the country's ecological transition, alongside FMO and FinDev Canada. Contributing to increasing the country's energy mix while promoting improved access for Argentina to clean, reliable and affordable energy is an objective perfectly in line with Proparco's strategy in favor of our planet. This transaction, which strengthens Proparco’s presence in Argentina’s renewable energy sector, is also an opportunity to reinforce Proparco’s cooperation with FMO and FinDev Canada."
Carlos Palazón, Chief Financial Officer at Genneia, highlighted: “We are pleased to announce a new long-term financing agreement with our longstanding partner from the Netherlands, along with the recent partnerships from Canada and France. The support from these institutions strengthens our leadership in Argentina and enables us to fulfill our commitment to supply renewable energy to large industrial users, progressing on the decarbonization of Argentina industry. This agreement reinforces our leadership in securing long-term financing from development banks and export credit agencies”.
The loan also qualifies for the 2X Challenge, based on Genneia’s commitments to strengthening its gender-inclusive practices.
About FMO
FMO is the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a 50+ year proven track-record in empowering entrepreneurs to make local economies more inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: Agribusiness, Food & Water, Energy, and Financial Institutions. With a total committed portfolio of EUR ~13 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector development banks globally. For more information: please visit www.fmo.nl
About FinDev Canada
FinDev Canada is Canada’s bilateral Development Finance Institution (DFI), supporting development through the private sector. We provide financing, investment, and blended finance solutions, as well as technical assistance and knowledge, to promote sustainable and inclusive growth in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement commitments. FinDev Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Export Development Canada (EDC). Find out more about FinDev Canada at www.findevcanada.ca.
About Proparco
Proparco, a subsidiary of Agence Française de Développement Group, has been working with the private sector for over 45 years for a more just and sustainable world. With an international network of 25 local offices, Proparco works closely with its partners to build sustainable solutions in response to environmental and social challenges in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America. Proparco benefits from sector-based expertise as well as a wide range of financial solutions tailored to the different stages of business development, notably thanks to its Digital Africa subsidiary, and its Propulse technical assistance offering designed to scale up the impacts and performance of its partners. Proparco’s new “Acting together for greater impact” Strategy 2023–2027 enables, strengthens and amplifies the different ways in which it works with its partners. To learn more: http://www.proparco.fr/en/strategy. For more information, go to: http://www.proparco.fr/en and @Proparco LinkedIn
About Genneia
Genneia is the leading renewable power generation company in Argentina. The company is primarily engaged in the generation of electrical power from both renewable (wind and solar power) and conventional (thermal power) sources. As of October 2024, total installed capacity was 1,529 MW (1,166 MW of renewable and 363 MW of thermal). Genneia has delivered a US$ 1,3bn renewable energy expansion plan of 17 projects for 1GW in 5.8 years.
About the 2X Challenge
The 2X Challenge was founded in 2018 by the Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) from the G7 as a call to action to shift more capital towards investments that empower women in developing countries to access entrepreneurship and leadership opportunities, quality jobs, and products and services that enhance their economic participation. More information about the 2X Challenge can be found here: https://www.2xchallenge.org
Media Contacts:
FMO | m.beek@fmo.nl
FinDev Canada I Media@findevcanada.ca
Proparco I presse@proparco.fr