For a green and inclusive growth in Mauritius

For nearly 4 years, Phoenix, in partnership with AEC, has assisted the French Development Agency (AFD) in the development of green and inclusive projects in Mauritius.
The SUNREF facility (Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance), developed by the AFD with the financial participation of the European Union (EU), aims to promote business investment in sustainable projects in developing countries through an integrated financial and technical approach.
In Mauritius, priority is given to climate change mitigation and adaptation and gender professional equality.
SUNREF offers technical assistance to project leaders and partner banks as well as investment financial premiums representing 5% to 16% of the eligible amount.
Our team, bringing together local and international experts, responded to requests from the 3 local partner banks to verify the actual implementation of investments and their compliance with SUNREF criteria, carry out site visits, assess the benefits provided by investments in terms of reducing consumption of water, electricity, chemicals, fuel, carbon emissions, etc.
At the end of these verifications, the issuance of certificates of conformity allows the release of premiums.
This long period ended this summer with an impressive result:

• 51 projects were verified in the field representing a total of €180 million invested;
• 56% of the amounts invested were declared eligible for the SUNREF system;
• Nearly 80% of these amounts were devoted to financing mitigation measures;
• The verifications allowed the release of €4 million in premiums, representing 7% of eligible investments;
• These investments avoided the emission of 250,000 tons of ^CO2 and saved 80 GWh of electricity, 260,000 ^m3 of water, 430,000 liters of diesel.

The investments benefiting from SUNREF premiums were very diverse: from the installation of rooftop solar panels by individuals to the rehabilitation of the neighborhood next to Victoria Station in Port Louis, including the installation of photovoltaic solar power plants, the modernization of industrial processes to make them more water and energy efficient, the construction of high-energy performance buildings, the development of water-efficient irrigation systems using renewable energy, etc. These audits allowed Phoenix experts to intervene in a concrete and operational manner in the implementation of green and inclusive growth projects. The experience accumulated also allowed them to issue numerous recommendations to improve the effectiveness of projects and incentive schemes.