As part of its Green Finance Academy, the Uganda Green Enterprise Finance Accelerator (UGEFA) has successfully completed a brand-new 3-day Green Loan Product Development Training with its longstanding partner bank Equity Bank Uganda, held from 10 to 12 February 2026 at the Golden Tulip Canaan Hotel in Kampala. The workshop marks a new milestone in the UGEFA Green Finance Academy’s mission to build lasting green finance capacity within Uganda’s banking sector.
Fully funded by the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Uganda and implemented by adelphi’s Green Finance Experts, the training brought together 23 Equity Bank staff from across a wide range of departments. It is the first time UGEFA has delivered this newly designed training module, which builds on the Green Finance Academy’s foundational training on Green Finance and Green Finance Instruments to take partner banks a decisive step further: into the hands-on development of their own green loan products.
Over the course of the three days, the participating team from Equity Bank worked through the full cycle of green loan product development – from assessing green eligibility requirements under Uganda’s National Green Taxonomy and managing climate-related lending risks, through to market strategy and go-to-market planning for new green client segments. By the close of the three days, the teams had developed what the organisers describe as “bank-ready” green loan concepts covering sustainable agriculture and agroprocessing, waste management and WASH, sustainable construction, and green manufacturing – a strong starting point for products that could reach Uganda’s underserved green SME clients in the months ahead. Three Green Loan Product Champions were also nominated from within Equity Bank during the closing ceremony, a key step in ensuring that the momentum generated during the training translates into real product development in the months ahead.
With Uganda’s National Green Taxonomy now in place and the Bank of Uganda tightening climate risk expectations, financial institutions that build early expertise in green lending stand to unlock new client segments, strengthen their ESG credentials, and contribute meaningfully to Uganda’s sustainable development agenda.
Virginia Ssemakula, Pillar Head for Energy, Environment and Climate Change at Equity reflected on the value of the training, noting that strengthening internal expertise is essential to enable the bank to confidently structure green lending products that meet real market needs while aligning with Uganda’s national and global climate priorities.
At the closing ceremony, Catherine Psomgen, Director Public Sector and Social Investment at Equity Bank Uganda, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to green finance:
“As Equity bank, we value our partnership with the European Union and UGEFA. This training has strengthened our ability to navigate green risk, meet regulatory requirements such as the green taxonomy and climate risk regulations and develop sustainable products. Sustainability is no longer a side project. You have our commitment that we will indeed implement and grow green financing.”
UGEFA looks forward to accompanying Equity Bank as the green loan products developed during this workshop move closer to market.
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