Summary sheet
The project consists of financing the Green Metropole Fund, a regional investment platform sponsored by the Port of Amsterdam and managed by e3 Partners, a Dutch private fund manager. The EIB loan will leverage the investment capacity of the fund's investors towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small projects in the important sectors of circular economy, renewable energy and energy efficiency. These projects have difficulties in accessing adequate financing, in particular due to their long-term nature and a frequent mismatch between their levels of risk and the risk appetite of private investors and lenders. The fund will deploy a large spectrum of financial instruments: primarily senior and subordinated debt as well as mezzanine and equity financing.
The project will accelerate the transition towards a circular and low carbon economy in the metropolitan area of Amsterdam.
Most of the projects to be financed by the fund are not expected to have a negative environmental impact. Some projects however may fall under Annex II of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU, in which case the national competent authority determines whether the projects are subject to an EIA based on Annex III of the directive. During appraisal, the fund manager's environmental and social management capacity and due diligence procedures will be reviewed to ensure compliance with the Bank's standards and the principles of EU environmental directives (including the EIA Directive, Habitats Directive and Birds Directive, Water Framework Directive and Industrial Emissions Directive), as applicable.
The fund has been assessed by the EIB as investing only in private companies not being subject to EU rules on public procurement or concessions. However, if after the appraisal the EIB were to conclude that the fund invests in projects subject to EU public procurement legislation, then the fund's investment guidelines will be required to ensure that procurement procedures applied by the promoters of the underlying investments financed by the fund are in line with the provisions of the relevant directives and the Bank's Guide to Procurement.