Romania is the first country to launch a green solutions platform for SMEs, designed by Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) in cooperation with Creative Dock.
The new digital pilot platform is a valuable tool, meant to support Romanian entrepreneurs in the transition to a green economy and will be implemented in the future in other countries where the RBI group is present.
The first stage of the development of the platform is designed to offer solutions to SMEs to reduce costs, in the context of rising electricity prices. The installation of photovoltaic systems is a handy solution, and the platform provides access to a network of specialized partners and the financing offered by Raiffeisen Bank. Also, those interested in finding out more details about the benefits of green energy, find in the platform a series of articles and testimonials, as well as news with the latest information in the field. SMEs thus have access to a complete guide, from assessing their needs, understanding the whole context, energy market opportunities to project management, financing, installation, and then the maintenance of equipment.
The platform is addressed to small and medium-sized enterprises that have the quality of prosumer (renewable energy produced by the purchased equipment is up to 100kW installed power and is intended for own consumption).
Green solutions for SMEs are available through a platform developed in cooperation with Creative Dock Austria, a European technology company based in Vienna. Creative Dock Austria is part of the Creative Dock Group, based in Prague, Czech Republic.
In the qualitative and quantitative studies conducted by Creative Dock together with Raiffeisen Bank, 56% of respondents said they were interested in photovoltaic systems and spontaneously associated such a choice with sustainability, cost optimization, and long-term efficiency. In the future, other topics in the field of sustainability will find their place on this platform, such as equipment for energy efficiency, modernization of buildings, electric mobility, etc.
“Although our SME customers are closer than we think to the subject of the green economy, the transition to sustainable business is not easy in practice, as they lack the time and resources to bring all actors together or get equipment funding or simply, the right solutions. We wanted to put together everything customers need to make their transition easy and we created this unique virtual space for green solutions, with a financing component with many advantages in terms of price, guarantees, and term. We will continue to develop the platform by adding other useful tools based on the opinions and needs of our customers.” said Raluca Nicolescu, SME’s chief executive officer at Raiffeisen Bank Romania.
“Our mission was to develop for Raiffeisen Bank International a platform where SMEs can easily access relevant and reliable information about photovoltaic systems. On the platform, SMEs can connect directly with experts, partners and, most importantly, benefit from favorable financing conditions for green loans” said Igor Prerovsky, CEO of Creative Dock Austria.
Source: Bank’s Press Release from December 22, 2021
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