Project detail - Ecobank Transnational Incorporated

Who is our customer?

Established in 1985, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (“ETI”) is a Togo-based, pan-African banking group with operations in 32 African countries. It is one of the leading banks across the continent with over 30 million customers. The Group also has a licensed operation in Paris and representative offices in Beijing, Dubai, and London. Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to corporates, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), individuals, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations and governments. Its subsidiary banks rank top 3 bank in 16 African countries across francophone West-Africa, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as anglophone West Africa, and Nigeria markets.

What is our funding objective?

FMO has participated as an anchor investor (USD 50 million) in ETI’s USD 450 mln Sustainable Agriculture & Natural Capital Bond. By providing Tier 2 financing in line with Basel III regulatory capital requirements, FMO supports and strengthens ETI’s capital position. In addition, ETI will allocate an amount equivalent to the net proceeds of the new issuance to finance eligible new and existing assets, in line with its Green and Nature Bond Framework, Ecobank Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Capital Bond.

Why do we fund this investment?

This investment contributes to FMO’s strategy of supporting green and sustainable finance in Sub Saharan Africa, while reinforcing its long-term partnership with a leading pan-African bank. The ETI green bonds – with a secondary designation as nature bonds – were issued under ETI’s “Ecobank Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Capital Bond” Framework which is aligned with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles. Net proceeds of the issuance will be allocated to eligible assets in three categories: (i) Sustainable Primary Production, (ii) Sustainable Agri-Processing (with commodity traceability), and (iii) Water Supply and Sanitation. 100% of FMO’s investment is labelled as Green as it supports activities that contribute to biodiversity, contributing to SDG 13, in line with the FMO’s methodology to determine the green finance attribution. Also, 32% of FMO’s investment is labelled as Reducing Inequalities as it supports activities that contribute to financial flows to Least Developed Countries (LDCs), contributing to SDG 10. In addition, FMO acted as a sole anchor investor, supporting the execution of the issuance and helping to crowd in other commercial investors.

What is the Environmental and Social categorization rationale?

ETI is categorized as an FI-A in line with FMO’s Sustainability Policy. ETI’s portfolio includes exposures to clients active in high Environmental and Social (E&S) risk sectors such as Oil and Gas, Manufacturing, Construction and Agriculture. In addition, ETI is active in over 30 countries across Africa, including jurisdictions with high contextual and human rights risks. ETI has implemented an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), recently updated in 2025, and has a dedicated team of E&S risk professionals, for managing applicable E&S risks within its portfolio. Within the context of the Nature Capital Bond, ETI has also developed a bond framework that incorporates additional E&S risk identification and management procedures for transactions under the bond.

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Date	Total FMO financing
12/8/2023	USD 60.00 MLN
12/13/2021	EUR 0.10 MLN
6/10/2021	USD 50.00 MLN
11/18/2021	USD 50.00 MLN
7/22/2022	USD 50.00 MLN
7/22/2022	USD 5.50 MLN