The European Union is stepping up its financing activity in Latin America, supporting renewable energy, green hydrogen, zero-emission mobility, and digital transformation in the region.

The European Union - Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC) Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA) highlights potential investment projects to help address the region's infrastructure needs, while creating local added value and promoting growth, jobs and social cohesion.

In mid-October, the European Investment Bank (EIB), in partnership with Enel and SACE, the Italian insurance and financial group owned by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, provided Enel Colombia with a term loan in the local currency.

The loan, backed by a SACE guarantee, neutralizes the exchange rate risk for a maximum amount in Colombian pesos equivalent to US$300 million.

The facility supports Colombia’s energy transition and mitigate the impact of climate change. Specifically, it will finance the solar PV plants Guayepo I and II, which have a total capacity of 486 megawatts, and expand Enel Colombia‘s distribution business, which serves more than 3.7 million customers in Bogota.

The agreement builds upon Enel’s longstanding successful collaboration with EIB and SACE in Latin America, which already granted a multi-country, multi-business and multi-currency sustainability-linked facility of up to US$900 million to Enel Group’s subsidiaries in the region.

“The agreement with the EIB and SACE is a virtuous example of synergies between the public and private sector and confirms our sustainability commitment,” says Enel Group’s chief financial officer Stefano De Angelis.

“This partnership adds further value to our business projects through a development strategy focused on renewables and grids, while contributing to accelerate the energy transition as well as the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, in line with our group’s Strategic Plan, the Paris Agreement and the UN 2030 Agenda.”