Consideration of accreditation proposals – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL150

The GCF Accreditation Panel recommends the accreditation of Banco Promerica de Costa Rica as a national direct access entity for 'small' projects with a 'medium risk' (intermediation 2) environmental and social category. The bank is approved for basic fiduciary standards and specialized standards for on-lending and blending. While the bank demonstrates strong gender policies and a track record in electric mobility and green building, the recommendation is subject to several conditions. These include establishing an institutional-level environmental and social grievance redress mechanism, publishing its ethics line on its website, adopting a GCF-consistent information disclosure policy, and updating procurement procedures to include public tender and award notifications.

• The Accreditation Panel recommends Banco Promerica for accreditation as a national direct access entity under the 'normal track' for projects of 'small' size (above USD 10 million and up to USD 50 million), with a maximum environmental and social risk category of 'medium risk (intermediation 2)'.
• Banco Promerica has a documented track record in climate-related financing, including USD 157 million in green loans as of December 2024. Specific projects include a USD 51 million real estate development with solar panels and EV charging, and a USD 12.1 million Electric Vehicles Program that financed 227 fully electric vehicles in Costa Rica.
• The bank's gender policy and competencies are found to fully meet GCF standards, evidenced by its signatory status to the UN Women's Empowerment Principles since 2020 and a 2024 self-assessment score of 66 per cent. It has implemented gender-responsive finance for women-led companies such as Na Lakalú, Coopeindia, and Agrocentro Tropical.
• The bank partially meets basic fiduciary and transparency standards due to gaps in its whistle-blowing accessibility and internal audit quality assessment. Specifically, its ethics line is not fully accessible on its external website, and it lacks an external quality assessment of its internal audit function within the recommended five-year timeframe.
• The bank's environmental and social (E&S) management system is considered to fully meet GCF requirements for risk category I-2, but its external communication and grievance mechanisms are insufficient. It currently lacks a dedicated E&S grievance redress mechanism (GRM) for non-client stakeholders and a formal information disclosure policy for GCF-financed activities.
• Accreditation is conditional upon the bank meeting several requirements: prior to the master agreement, it must establish an E&S GRM and publish its ethics line; prior to first disbursement, it must adopt procurement procedures requiring publication of all tenders and awards; and prior to its midterm review, it must provide an independent quality assessment of its internal audit function.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2025). Consideration of accreditation proposals – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL150. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/consideration-accreditation-proposals-addendum-i-banco-promerica-gcf-b42-03-add01.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Consideration of accreditation proposals – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL150. 2025. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/consideration-accreditation-proposals-addendum-i-banco-promerica-gcf-b42-03-add01.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Consideration of accreditation proposals – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL150 |date=9 June 2025 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/consideration-accreditation-proposals-addendum-i-banco-promerica-gcf-b42-03-add01.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2025consideration, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Consideration of accreditation proposals – Addendum I Accreditation assessment of APL150}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/consideration-accreditation-proposals-addendum-i-banco-promerica-gcf-b42-03-add01.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }