The Climate Bonds Standard Board has announced Agusto & Co., a Pan-African credit rating agency, as one of the three companies certified as an Approved Verifier to perform verification of green bonds, projects and assets in Africa.
Agusto & Co. operates offices in Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda.
As an Approved Verifier, Agusto & Co. will assess projects eligibility under the Climate Bonds Standard criteria for solar, wind, marine, geothermal, bioenergy, recycling, forestry, Buildings, water, waste, transport, agriculture and shipping sectors in Africa.
It will also issue pre-issuance and post-issuance verifier reports, according to a statement posted on the rating agency’s official website.
Also, as an Approved Verifier, Agusto & Co. can help companies in Africa unlock access to local and international funding options as well as promote sustainable and best environment-friendly practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The agency said that over the last few years, it has supported the development of the Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme in partnership with key stakeholders.
These include the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Market Dealers Quotation (FMDQ Group), Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa), and Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit).
It added that it has also issued credit ratings for the first financial institutions certified Green Bond in Nigeria (Access Bank Plc’s ₦15 Billion 5-Year 15.5% Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Green Bond Due 2024). Another was the first corporate certified Green Bond in Nigeria (North South Power Company’s ₦8.5 Billion 15-Year 15.6% Series 1 Guaranteed Green Infrastructure Bond Due 2033).
Agusto & Co. believes that its domestic capital market experience, local presence coupled with a strong research and sectoral skill set to readily assess and verify green projects in Africa at a reasonable cost will be a catalyst to accelerate the development of green finance and investments in Africa.
As an Approved Verifier, Agusto & Co. can help companies in Africa unlock access to local and international funding options as well as promote sustainable and best environment-friendly practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
