METABUILD Cleantech Finance Report (Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka)

The METABUILD project was part of the European Union funded SWITCH-Asia Programme and has been implemented from March 2016 until February 2020. METABUILD specifically targeted the metal industry supplying to the building & construction sector across Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Beyond direct industry support to implement Resource Efficient Cleaner Production (RECP) measures and capacity building for local RECP consultants, METABUILD engaged with a wider group of stakeholders to build a supportive framework for action among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). One facet of this stakeholder support entailed a specific focus on financial institutions.

Including financial institutions as a target group in the project besides metal industries was key in order to support the development of a comprehensive framework around cleantech finance, in particular in terms of the provision of customised and affordable financial product lines for RECP enhancement of SMEs.

This report gives an overview of METABUILD’s understanding of cleantech finance, examines the status quo of cleantech finance in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and assesses country-specific challenges for SMEs in accessing cleantech financial products. The report presents the most pressing challenges prevalent across all three project countries, both from SMEs’ point of view as well as from the perspective of financial institutions. It presents core recommendations, which have been derived through the work of METABUILD. Finally, the report explains in detail the METABUILD approach of cleantech financial product prototyping.

Other publications by this project

• METABUILD Project Flagship Report
• Policy Briefs on Resource Efficient Cleaner Production and Report on Regional Policy Dialogue (Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka)
• METABUILD Lessons Learnt Report