Early Warning System

Countries

Tunisia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

Sep 23, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (UBCI)

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Finance

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 11.82 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 10
Converted using 2025-09-23 exchange rate.

Project Cost (USD)

$ 11.82 million

Bank Documents

PSD Translation (French)

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Oct 24, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Oct 7, 2025

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Can you contribute information about this project?
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Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of the provision of a five-year senior loan of up to EUR 10 million in synthetic TND to UBCI. The Loan will be provided under the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) in Tunisia. The proceeds of the Loan will be on-lent to eligible sub-borrowers implementing qualifying Sub-projects in line with the technical and financial eligibility criteria.

The Loan will enable UBCI to enhance its product range and provide term financing to private sub-borrowers in the country for investments in climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies and services supporting Green Economy Transition.

Early Warning System Project Analysis

For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

Categorised FI (ESP 2024): Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (UBCI), an existing client under TFP operation, has demonstrated satisfactory environmental and social (E&S) performance under its current exposure. The proceeds will be used for financing eligible private MSMEs for climate adaptation and mitigation technologies and services. The subprojects are expected to carry low-to-medium E&S risk, primarily associated with the client's capacity to implement its Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), potential impacts arising from the financed subloans, and related supply chain risks.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Provision of a five-year senior loan of up to EUR 10 million in synthetic TND. The Loan will be provided under the Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF) in Tunisia.

Financial Intermediary

A financial intermediary is a bank or financial institution that receives funds from a development bank. A financial intermediary then lends these funds to their clients (private actors) in the form of loans, bonds, guarantees and equity shares. Financial intermediaries include insurance, pension and equity funds. The direct financial relationship is between the development bank and the financial intermediary.

Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (UBCI) (Financial Intermediary)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Established in 1961, Union Bancaire pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (UBCI) is the 11th largest Tunisian bank (8th among privately-owned) by total assets, market share exceeding 3.5% and over 4% among the banks listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange. The bank, which is headquartered in Tunis, has an extensive network of ca. 102 branches across the country. The bank is listed on the Tunis Stock Exchange, with a market capitalisation of EUR 113.0m as of end-September 2025.

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Walid Akrout
walid.akrout@ubci.com.tn
https://www.ubci.tn/
N°1, Place Pasteur, 1002 Tunis

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html