Environmentally-friendly and energy efficient domestic refrigerators and room ACs will soon become widely accessible in Ghana through the Green On-wage (GO) financial mechanism of the ECOFRIDGES  program with Fidelity Bank.

ECOFRIDGES Ghana is a joint program by the United Nations Environment Programme’s United for Efficiency (U4E) initiative and the Government of Ghana through the Energy Commission in collaboration with regional and local partners to accelerate adoption of energy-efficient and climate-friendly domestic refrigerators and room air conditioners. A cornerstone of ECOFRIDGES is a financial mechanism to ensure these cooling products are affordable. BASE is leading the development and implementation of this scheme.

Through the no-risk high-potential ECOFRIDGES Green On-Wage (GO) financial mechanism, Fidelity Bank Ghana – a leading commercial bank in Ghana, and other partner local financial institutions aim to unlock USD 5 million in financing to support the purchase of well over 10,000 energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling products to replace old existing equipment by 2022. The mechanism also includes complementary components, notably the proper collection and disposal of used appliances, product testing, policy considerations, and promotion and awareness campaigns.

ECOFRIDGES GO will soon become commercially available in Ghana. BASE signed a MoU with Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited as the first partner local financial institution. ECOFRIDGES GO is based on an employee loan product repaid over time through salary deductions.

Fidelity Bank in collaboration with BASE, aims to develop a credit product designed to finance the up-front cost of appliance purchased by qualified customers, from partner vendors selling certified cooling systems. The vendors will deliver the new domestic refrigerator or room air conditioner, facilitate the collection and recycling of old products from consumers. Customers are incentivised to turn-in used but operational cooling equipment through a voucher valid for use at vendors’ branches.

“BASE is looking forward to working with first-mover Fidelity Bank and welcoming other partner financial institutions in the development and roll out of ECOFRIDGES GO in Ghana to support Ghanaian households replacing their old and inefficient domestic cooling systems with high-efficiency and environmentally friendly refrigerators and ACs through accessible and low-risk financing” said Aurélien Pillet, Sustainable Energy Finance Specialist of BASE.

“Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited is excited to collaborate with BASE as the first financial institution in Ghana to promote the implementation of ECOFRIDGES GO in Ghana, under its Green Environment initiatives. As an environmentally responsible bank, our aim is to promote energy-efficient solutions to help a lot more Ghanaians save money on their utility bills and ease pressure on the electricity grid, while lessening impact on the environment.” said Nana Esi Idun – Arkhurst, Divisional Director of Fidelity Bank Ghana.

Now more than ever, energy-efficient and climate-friendly domestic refrigerators can help families cope with the consequences and restrictions generated by Covid-19. Efficient and clean cooling systems help households to save money on their electricity bills, in addition to the well-recognised benefits of refrigeration in extending the shelf life and quality of food. Access to cooling is a basic need and ECOFRIDGES GO is a great opportunity to cost-effectively address this challenge.

The ECOFRIDGES Initiative Program is made possible by funding from Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) and in-kind contributions from Ghana’s Energy Commission and Environmental Protection Agency. Read more on United4Efficiency website.