GIB gets £200m for overseas drive

The move will see the Edinburgh-based bank target East Africa, South Africa and India.

It is the first overseas foray by the environmentally-focused bank since it was launched in November 2012.

The international cash is to be on top of the GIB’S allocation of £3.8 billion to invest in UK projects.

GIB confirmed it would focus on investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the three initial overseas target markets. The bank said it would match the business model it has developed in the UK, investing in green projects on commercial terms and mobilising extra private sector capital.

Shaun Kingsbury, chief executive of GIB (pictured), said: “This important new pilot programme will see GIB investing outside the UK for the first time.

“I am confident that our unique business model, tried and tested in the UK, will have a very positive effect in developing countries, helping them to build vital new green energy infrastructure.”

Edward Davey, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said in a written House of Commons statement yesterday: “Unmitigated climate change will hit the poorest first and hardest.

“It is vital that we use public climate finance to catalyse private investment into developing countries.”

The government said that it was estimated the projects would save some 3.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year when completed.

GIB said it will recruit a dedicated team to manager the project.

It will be overseen by a board whose members will be drawn from the bank and the Department for Energy and Climate Change.