July 15, 2025

by AEA in News

GGF grows direct lending, committed to energy transition, energy security

In its Impact Report 2024, Green for Growth Fund outlined how it powers the green transition across Southeast Europe, the Caucasus and beyond – from repurposing coal sites and decarbonizing industries to strengthening energy security and building climate resilience. It ended last year with EUR 1.09 billion in assets under management and an outstanding investment portfolio of EUR 1.03 billion.

Luxembourg-based GGF has become one of the largest green blended-finance funds. It marked its 15th anniversary in 2024 by passing the EUR 1 billion mark in its portfolio.

“To date, we have delivered over EUR 2 billion in green finance through 70+ active financial institutions, companies, and infrastructure projects. This is impact on a systematic level and reflects the dedication of our partners, teams, and investors. We delivered many landmark projects as we continue to grow our direct lending,” the fund said in its 2024 Impact Report: Breaking the billion for lasting green impact.

GGF highlighted its role in transforming legacy energy systems into clean energy sites in North Macedonia. “We are also investing in corporate decarbonization across resource-intensive sectors in Turkey, including the country’s second-largest retail chain. Working with our financial institution partners, Ukraine’s energy security – and the security of the wider region – remains our focus,” the update reads.

Driving the energy transition and strengthening energy security is an urgent task, the fund said and stressed that its commitment remains strong. It ended 2024 with EUR 1.09 billion in assets under management and an outstanding investment portfolio of EUR 1.03 billion.

Energy-intensive sectors in region can decarbonize

The cumulative volume invested in partner lending institutions has reached EUR 2 billion. GGF is active in 18 countries.

“Passing the EUR 1 billion mark brings greater responsibility. We must continue to show the world that energy-intensive sectors in the region can decarbonize and renewables can lead to energy stability and security,” Chairperson of the Board of Directors Simon Gupta stated.

Headline figures include 1.4 million tons of carbon dioxide emission savings per year, which is the equivalent of taking 949,000 cars off the road. GGF supported 1.76 GW of renewable energy capacity through 2024, which is a whopping 36.4% more than one year before. Its activity resulted in 2.16 million cubic meters of water saved or treated per annum, which translates to 865 swimming pools.

GGF strategically manages impact through supporting measures that mitigate climate change and promote sustainable economic growth in Southeast Europe including Turkey, the European Eastern Neighborhood Region, and the Middle East and North Africa.

From coal pit to solar plant

Recognizing the need for energy independence, the Western Balkans are prioritizing projects that support the green energy transition, GGF pointed out.

“But financing is essential to help countries shift to domestic and clean renewable power. We arranged EUR 25.7 million in project financing for a 50 MW solar power generation project on the site of the former Oslomej coal mine in Kičevo, North Macedonia,” it added.

GGF arranged a EUR 25.7 million package for a PV plant on former coal mining land in the REK Oslomej complex in North Macedonia

The region’s reliance on legacy coal-fired power plants has resulted in outages, shortfalls, closures and volatile energy costs, GGF warned. “Governments recognize this and are increasingly prioritizing sustainable power projects aimed at reducing fossil fuel imports, lowering costs and stabilizing energy supply. To fulfill this ambitious agenda, they need support,” the fund stressed.

Oslomej is GGF’s second project finance transaction in North Macedonia, following its investment as a minority shareholder in the 36 MW Bogoslovec wind farm in 2021.

“Our investment in the Oslomej solar project underscores our commitment to North Macedonia’s green energy transition. By reducing reliance on fossil fuels and enhancing energy security, this project aligns with our mission to mitigate climate change and promote sustainable energy solutions,” said Fund Director for GGF at Finance in Motion Borislav Kostadinov.

Of note, he was one of the keynote speakers at this year’s edition of Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025), organized by Balkan Green Energy News. Finance in Motion is GGF’s advisor.

Future-proofing Turkish businesses

The fund provided USD 26 million to Sanko Tekstil, one of the largest yarn producers in Turkey. It financed the full cost of a 20 MW rooftop photovoltaic system and partially covered the construction of a fiber recycling facility in Gaziantep.

Meanwhile, a USD 18 million investment into A101, the country’s second-largest retail chain, is decarbonizing store operations across 81 cities via a large-scale solar installation. It supported a 30 MW solar power project, expected to meet 10% of the company’s electricity needs.

Embedding sustainability

GGF complements its financing with advisory and capacity-building services, and risk-management support. It includes environmental and social due diligence, as well as monitoring, to keep projects aligned with international best practices.

The advisory and capacity-building activities in 2024 focused on embedding sustainability and advancing green finance across partner institutions.

A key highlight was the completion of four Deep Greening Mainstreaming projects, which supported financial institutions in developing strategies in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) sector, green products, and internal sustainability structures.

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June 2, 2025

by AEA in News

Green for Growth Fund launches partnership with Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

An agreement between the Green for Growth Fund (GGF) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) enabled the expansion of green lending in the Western Balkans and the European Union’s Eastern Neighborhood. With the new unfunded guarantee of EUR 60 million, GGF can provide EUR 120 million in loans through financial intermediaries and directly to companies.

The Green for Growth Fund established a new partnership, with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. It facilitates GGF’s first risk-sharing, unfunded guarantee. The Luxembourg-based fund and Sweden’s development cooperation agency said they both support real economies and acceleration of the green transition in the Western Balkans and the countries of the EU’s Eastern Neighborhood.

The signed unfunded guarantee amounts to EUR 60 million. It enables GGF to provide EUR 120 million in loans to private businesses and households through financial intermediaries and directly to companies. The package is for urgently needed investments in the decarbonization of the economy – expanding renewable energy generation and improving energy efficiency.

With unfunded portfolio risk-sharing facilities, international financing institutions or similar lenders and agencies accept a share of risk in an investment instead of committing capital.

New funding approach is major milestone for Green for Growth Fund

The Green for Growth Fund promotes energy efficiency and renewable energy in Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, Middle East and North Africa. By providing refinancing to local financial institutions, it helps businesses and households access sustainable energy solutions, fostering energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

GGF was initiated as a public-private partnership by the European Investment Bank and Germany’s KfW Development Bank, with financial support from the European Union, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and other international investors. Finance in Motion serves as GGF’s advisor.

“We are excited to welcome Sida as a new guarantee partner to the Green for Growth Fund. This innovative funding approach, being the first of its kind for us, represents a major milestone. We are grateful to Finance in Motion for their exceptional work in structuring this deal. This partnership not only strengthens our capacity to support green initiatives but also enhances our ability to prepare financial institutions and businesses for future opportunities in the EU market,” GGF’s Board Chairperson Simon Gupta stated.

Bridging investment gap in high-risk markets

The Swedish International Development Cooperation’s Agency’s Assistant Director General Kjell Forsberg, responsible for trade, private sector and financial instruments, said the partnership is aimed at supporting countries highly prioritized by Sweden. The guarantee collaboration between the agency and the Green for Growth Fund bridges the investment gap in high-risk markets while complementing other Swedish official development assistance (ODA) contributions as well as the European Union’s programs.

“We are grateful to Sida for their partnership and support. This collaboration is crucial for the Green for Growth Fund, enhancing our efforts in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy projects,” said Borislav Kostadinov, Fund Director of GGF at Finance in Motion.

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May 21, 2025

by AEA in News

GGF’s Kostadinov: Western Balkans responded to energy crisis with innovation, ambition (video)

The past three to four years have been nothing short of transformational when it comes to the energy transition in the Western Balkans, said Borislav Kostadinov, Finance in Motion’s Fund Director for the Green for Growth Fund, in a keynote address at Belgrade Energy Forum. The region has responded to the energy crisis with innovation, ambition and resilience, he pointed out. The challenge in the energy transition is understood and so is the solution, Kostadinov stressed.

Borislav Kostadinov, a Fund Director at Finance in Motion, gave a keynote speech at Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025). He leads the Green for Growth Fund, or GGF, the company’s flagship green finance fund.

Finance in Motion is an impact asset manager based in Frankfurt with over 20 years of experience and more than EUR 4 billion in assets under management (AUM). It specializes in blended finance vehicles that deliver positive social and environmental impact. GGF has delivered over EUR 500 million in green finance to almost 50,000 beneficiaries in the Balkans. As of the end of last year, it was above EUR 1 billion in size.

Renewables have become mainstream investments

The breadth and flexibility of the fund’s model allow it to support a wide spectrum of the energy transition, which has enabled it to expand to over 19 markets along the European Union’s borders, Kostadinov explained.

The past three to four years have been nothing short of transformational when it comes to the energy transition in the Western Balkans, he underscored.

“I would not be the first to say that we are at a key juncture in the energy transition. At this stage, the challenge is understood and so is the solution. Renewables have become mainstream investments, championed by the public and private sectors, and are the foundation of a future that is not only sustainable but cost-efficient, competitive, and secure. The question now becomes how quickly and how completely we can deliver on this vision over the next five, fifteen and 25 years,” Kostadinov stated. In terms of energy systems and climate change, it is not much time, he pointed out.

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Western Balkans are broad-based renewables growth story

For several years now, there has been a broad-based renewables growth story across the region: from utility-scale project finance transactions, to large installations for captive use by industry and manufacturing, to photovoltaics on the roofs of households, Kostadinov recalled.

“What is driving this shift? Certainly, the energy crisis jolted all of Europe, and the Western Balkans have responded with innovation, ambition, and resilience. In a short time, we have improved policy, strengthened regulatory frameworks and prioritized the sector with clearer strategies and market mechanisms,” he said.

GGF’s director praised the countries in the region for embracing transparent, competitive auctions as a foundation for market-based deployment of renewables.

Kostadinov particularly highlighted Serbia for leading the way. “Its recent auctions for wind and solar have been consistent, well-communicated, credible and investor friendly, drawing broad investor participation. Most importantly, they’ve been successful, and we are proud to have contributed to this achievement alongside our longstanding partner UniCredit Bank, through its investment in the landmark Čibuk 2 wind farm,” he told the audience at BEF 2025.

Corporate PPAs, guarantees of origin deepen markets while also expanding them

The public sector must continue strengthening markets and frameworks and develop and roll out mechanisms such as corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) and guarantees of origin, which deepen and expand markets, Kostadinov said.

“We need more purely private projects, such as the GGF-backed 50 MW Project Blue solar plant in Albania. As the largest non-subsidized solar project in the Western Balkans, and developed without a long-term PPA from the utility, it is the type of investment that we hope to increasingly catalyse in the region,” he asserted.

The three principles for the next five years are speed, integration, and resilience, Kostadinov says

In Kostadinov’s view, the three principles for the next five years are speed, integration, and resilience.

“We must continue to improve the speed, transparency and bureaucratic process when it comes to permitting, approving and bringing projects online. This is true in the EU, and it is true in the Western Balkans, in particular for construction permitting and grid connections,” he said.

The necessary investments in the integration of energy markets in the EU and the region will create scale, meaning larger markets, deeper spot markets, and more varied offtake, Kostadinov added. His message to energy producers in the Balkans is that they would be able to diversify and address a larger market by supplying Europe’s industrial base.

The recent blackout in Spain is a cautionary tale, but the story is not a failure of renewables but rather a failure of grid resilience, Kostadinov said.

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April 21, 2025

by AEA in News

Minister Admir Šahmanović formally assumes energy, mining portfolio in Montenegro

Prime Minister of Milojko Spajić has merged two ministries, so Minister of Mining, Oil and Gas and Coordinator of the Ministry of Energy Admir Šahmanović took the helm at the joint energy and mining portfolio. Among his primary responsibilities are the completion of the domestic part of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, the installation of the second line of the Monita submarine interconnector with Italy and power market coupling with the European Union.

The Parliament of Montenegro elected Minister of Energy and Mining Admir Šahmanović. He led the Ministry of Mining, Oil and Gas in since July. As Minister of Energy Saša Mujović was elected mayor of the capital Podgorica, Šahmanović recently took over as coordinator,

Prime Minister Milojko Spajić now formally merged the two ministries again. “If we complete the Trans-Balkan Corridor – only a few kilometers are left, the second line of the underwater cable toward Italy, Montenegro is becoming the cooperation bridge between the Balkans and the EU,” he said in the national assembly, promoting Šahmanović.

The list of priority energy infrastructure, adopted in December, also includes the Komarnica and Kruševo hydropower projects, the Ionian-Adriatic Pipeline (IAP), a subsidy scheme for rooftop solar power plants, energy efficiency measures and a floating solar power unit.

The Trans-Balkans Electricity Corridor is a project for upgrading transmission systems in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The proposed lines run from Romania to the Monita subsea interconnector with Italy.

Admir Šahmanović will participate in the first panel discussion within Belgrade Energy Forum (BEF 2025), organized by Balkan Green Energy News. The two-day conference in Serbia, starting on May 14, is the central meeting point for representatives of regional and international institutions, organizations and the business community from the region, Europe, and beyond.

Minister has master’s degree in financial management

The minister said earlier this month that current photovoltaic and wind power projects would boost Montenegro’s electricity capacity fivefold, to 5 GW. Admir Šahmanović, born in 1985, has a master’s degree in financial management. He is in the leadership of the Bosniak Party.

Early in his career, he worked in PricewaterhouseCoopers in both Montenegro in Serbia, in Montenegro’s ministries of sustainable development and tourism and public administration, and the British Council in Podgorica. The current minister has experience in managing funds received from the European Union.

Šahmanović entered energy policy sphere in 2022

Three years ago, Šahmanović was named state secretary in the Ministry of Capital Investments, which included the energy portfolio. He participated in the negotiations on the EU accession and on obtaining loans from international financial institutions.

According to his official biography, the minister has promoted sustainable energy and transportation and environmental protection and worked on the country’s strategic documents and action plans.

Additionally, Šahmanović has managed EU-funded projects for wastewater purification and green energy.

Last month he oversaw the adoption of the new Law on Energy.

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April 3, 2025

by AEA in News

Bulgaria aims to make Europe’s biggest energy community

The Ministry of Energy, Electricity System Operator (ESO) and the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) are launching a solar power program for municipalities, schools, kindergartens, hospitals and small businesses. There are no upfront costs and the installations become the beneficiary’s ownership within eight years.

Minister Zhecho Stankov said the goal is to create the largest energy community in Europe and hinted that the government would finance the scheme with a green bond. He also declared the start of the regional Vertical Gas Corridor project in Bulgaria as the first pipes were delivered.

Every school and hospital in Bulgaria can become an electricity producer, Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov stressed as he presented a financial support mechanism designed with the ambition to create the largest energy community in Europe. The model will benefit both the public sector and private business, he pointed out in the port city of Burgas at a ceremony marking the arrival of the first 4,000 pipes for the Bulgarian sections of the regional Vertical Gas Corridor.

The joint initiative with the country’s power transmission system operator ESO and the Bulgarian Development Bank is for the installation of solar panels with no upfront costs. Beneficiaries – municipalities, schools, kindergartens, hospitals and small businesses – would pay through energy savings and become owners in six to eight years, Stankov claimed.

Bulgaria mulls issuing green bond to finance sustainable energy

The minister also said the project could lead to the government’s first green bond to finance clean and locally produced energy available to a wide range of consumers.

For example, Burgas Municipality can equip all schools, hospitals, kindergartens and other facilities with photovoltaic panels without spending a penny from the local budget, Stankov explained.

Government to invest EUR 57 million in Vertical Gas Corridor

The Vertical Gas Corridor is envisaged to connect Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. They plan to transport the fuel from liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals Alexandroupolis and Revithoussa in Greece, and from the Caspian region, via the Southern Gas Corridor.

The government is fully funding the first stage of the project on Bulgarian territory, with EUR 57 million. The pipes for the pipelines came from India.

Stankov: Bulgaria will never again be left without natural gas

“Bulgaria will never again be left without natural gas,” said Minister Stankov. The capacity of the line between Kulata, on the border with Greece, and Kresna will be increased to 3.6 billion cubic meters per year from 2.3 billion, he added. The distance is 48.5 kilometers.

The most difficult part is between Mikrevo and Ribnik, where three kilometers will be built by horizontal drilling, the minister revealed. He explained there would be no aboveground work, so that nature and infrastructure wouldn’t be affected.

Another section, 80 kilometers, is from Rupcha to Vetrino. The purpose of the investment is to double the maximum annual flow toward Romania to 10 billion cubic meters, Stankov stressed. The last one, Tarnik-Piperovo, is 51 kilometers long.

The compressors on the corridor are reversible, allowing gas supply in both directions, the minister noted.