Tag: Nedbank

IPP Acwa Power secures US$500m funding for its Redstone solar power plant in Northern Cape

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Saudi Arabian independent power producer (IPP) Acwa Power, has raised US&500 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Absa Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), CDC Group, Nedbank, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), Investec Bank and Sanlam Life Insurance to finance the construction of Redstone concentrated solar power plant (CSP). Following the announcement of the fundraiser, construction work on the 100 MW capacity facility is set to begin. The announcement is an important milestone for this concession granted to Acwa Power…

Read More

Nedbank to stop funding new coal mines beginning 2025

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA- Financial institution Nedbank, will stop financing new thermal coal mines from 2025 and cut direct funding of new oil and gas exploration projects with immediate effect, the bank has announced amid growing pressure on banks from climate activists. South Africa’s lenders, some of the biggest banks on the continent, are facing pressure from environmental groups to stop funding fossil-fuel power projects that are seen as a major risk to global plans to tackle climate change. South Africa, the continent’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, gets most of its power…

Read More

Nedbank, Mastercard and Ukheshe partner to launch WhatsApp payments in South Africa

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Nedbank, Mastercard and fintech firm Ukheshe, have joined hands to launch Money Message, a payment platform that lets small and micro businesses receive in-chat payments from their customers via WhatsApp. In a statement, the big-four bank says a first in South Africa, the solution will enable merchants to send an invoice requesting payment from any customer through WhatsApp and their customers, in turn, can quickly settle a payment directly from the platform, it added. “The need for a diverse range of contactless payment methods is more important today than we…

Read More

Nedbank gets US$200m loan from IFC to drive renewables in South Africa

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Financial services group Nedbank has received a US$200 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, to drive renewable energy projects in South Africa. Arvana Singh, head of sustainable finance solutions at Nedbank’s Corporate Investment Banking (CIB), said the US$200 million loan facility will complement Nedbank’s already well-established green finance operations, grow its climate portfolio, and expand its support of renewable energy projects that are key to the continued evolution of South Africa’s green economy. The announcement comes a week after the country’s…

Read More

Fintech MortgageMarket raises US$682K funding from IDF Capital, plans expansion

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – Fintech marketplace for home loans MortgageMarket, has raised US$681,765 in its latest round of funding from venture capital firm IDF Capital and now plans to expand its operations. MortgageMarket is a customer-centric online platform that harnesses technology and customer service to allow users to compare home loan offers from South Africa’s top six banks within 48 hours. The fintech company was co-founded in 2019 by Tim Akinnusi, a former Nedbank home loans executive and former Absa home loans managing executive. The latest funding, which also establishes a partnership deal between MortgageMarket…

Read More

Nedbank secures US$200m from IFC to increase green financing in South Africa

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Nedbank have partnered to increase financing for renewable energy projects in South Africa, helping the country transition to cleaner forms of power, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create jobs in the renewables sector. IFC will provide Nedbank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nedbank Group, with a loan of up to US$200 million to help it expand its green finance operations and grow its climate portfolio by funding renewable energy projects. The partnership is part of…

Read More

Strandline secures U$26m from Nedbank to finance its Fungoni project in Tanzania

Frank

TANZANIA – Australian based Strandline Resources Limited has secured a loan of U$26 million to finance Fungoni Mineral Sand Project in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam. In its 2020 annual report, the company said Fungoni’s success is parallel to similar progress being made at its flagship Coburn Project in Australia.  The company said that while the pace of activity was at times limited by the impact of COVID-19, the signing of a Project Finance Facility Agreement with Nedbank CIB for development of the Fungoni project succeeded. “This facility accounts…

Read More

AfDB invests US$116m in SDG bonds issued by Nedbank to strengthen its capital base

Frank

SOUTH AFRICA – The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has concluded the investment of R2 billion (US$116 million) in Sustainable Development Goals-linked bonds (SDG bonds) issued by Nedbank South Africa. In a statement, the AfDB noted that this investment, which is listed on the green bonds segment of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, will strengthen Nedbank’s capital base and enable it to generate R12 billion (US$696 million) in new loans and investments in environmentally friendly and climate-sensitive projects in areas such as renewable energy and affordable housing. This SDG-linked Tier 2…

Read More

Planning more important than prediction for Africa’s property sector now and post Covid-19

Frank

By Gerhard Zeelie AFRICA – An understandable response to the economic fallout of Covid-19 is for governments, industries and businesses trying to predict the path that the global economy will take in the coming months and years. However, given that this is a challenging exercise at best, it’s probably a better investment of valuable time and effort to ponder the many lessons – some very hard to swallow – that the pandemic has taught us, and integrate them into our future business and investment plans and strategies, so that we’re…

Read More

Nedbank appoints Victor Ashikoto as its new Chief Operating Officer

Frank

NAMIBIA – Nedbank, a financial service provider, has appointed Victor Ashikoto as the chief operating officer (COO). He is a seasoned Information and Communication Technology (ICT) expert with almost two decades’ working experience in senior roles across the banking, telecommunications, transport and energy sectors. In this position, Ashikoto is largely responsible for the alignment of Nedbank’s strategy to key national initiatives, including the setting up of innovation, technology and payment capabilities and functionality within the organisation. “We are delighted by the appointment. Ashikoto has worked at the highest levels of…

Read More