ER Group (https://ERGroup.mu/) announces the launch of its Sustainable Finance Framework (SFF), a structure that anchors its financing strategy around formalised, measurable and independently verified sustainability commitments. Aligned with international standards set by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the Loan Market Association (LMA) and validated by a Second Party Opinion from Moody’s Ratings, a world-leading credit rating agency, the Framework positions ER Group among the most advanced corporate issuers in the region in sustainable finance.
As one of Mauritius’s leading listed groups and a member of SEMSI, the Stock Exchange of Mauritius Sustainability Index, ER Group employs nearly 13,000 people and operates across 17 territories. The adoption of this Framework marks a milestone in the implementation of the Group’s Sustainability Strategy 2025–2035.
Building on the successful green bond issued by EnVolt in 2023, ER Group takes a new step with a policy that applies across all its activities: common eligibility criteria for every business, dedicated governance at Board level, and annual reporting on the results achieved. The scope covers more than 90% of the Group’s revenues.
What the SFF enables in practice
The framework rests on two complementary financing mechanisms. The first, the Use-of-Proceeds, reserves the funds raised for the financing of clearly identified impact projects: renewable energy, green-certified buildings, clean mobility, sustainable water management, circular economy initiatives and biodiversity restoration. It also covers projects with a social dimension: job creation and support for SMEs, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and the preservation of cultural heritage.
The second, the Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB), links the financial terms of future issuances to the achievement of measurable sustainability targets that are independently audited. Under the SLB, ER Group has set three measurable group-wide targets to be achieved by 2031: increasing female representation in management positions to 40%, reaching 10% electric vehicles in sales across Axess, Mauritius’ leading car dealership and certifying 50% of its commercial rental portfolio under internationally recognised green building standards. These targets will apply to every future issuance carried out under this mechanism.
Governance of the SFF is entrusted to the Sustainability and Inclusiveness Committee (SIC), sub-committee of the Board of Directors, responsible for validating eligible projects, monitoring targets and approving Framework-related spending across the Group. The framework also draws on the Group’s 2025-2035 Climate & Biodiversity Strategy, developed with Carbone 4, and aligned with international recommendations on the management of climate and nature-related risks.
Gilbert Espitalier-Noël, Group CEO of ER Group: “Every investment decision at ER Group is guided by the same principle: deploying capital where it creates long-term value, with discipline and in support of projects that strengthen both the resilience of the Group and the development of Mauritius as well as the countries where we operate. The Sustainable Finance Framework gives us a common reference point to apply this discipline to projects with environmental and social impact, and to report on them transparently.”
The SFF is intended to serve as the reference point for all future bond issuances and structured financing of the Group and reflects ER Group’s ambition to make sustainable finance a structural driver of its growth strategy.
Amaury Koenig, Chief Strategy & Investment Executive of ER Group: “The Sustainable Finance Framework provides our investors and financial partners with a common reference point, aligned with international standards, for identifying, structuring and monitoring eligible projects across our seven business segments. With several issuances planned over the coming months, this framework enables us to mobilise capital on conditions aligned with the nature of our environmental and social commitments.”
International standards, independent validation
To validate its framework, ER Group has obtained a Second Party Opinion from Moody’s Ratings, one of the major global credit rating agencies, whose opinion serves as a reference for institutional investors worldwide. This independent validation confirms both the rigour of the framework and the ambition of its targets. It places ER Group in a very select group of African corporate issuers to benefit from such international recognition for their sustainability commitments.
MCB Capital Markets supported ER Group in structuring and drafting the SFF, in line with the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles and Sustainability Bond Guidelines of the ICMA for bonds, as well as the equivalent LMA principles for loans.
Anish Goorah, Senior Vice President – MCB Capital Markets: “This collaboration reflects the ability of MCB Capital Markets to support its clients across the full spectrum of sustainable finance, from the development of Sustainable Frameworks to the structuring and issuance of innovative instruments. By combining technical expertise with a thorough understanding of markets and investors, MCB Capital Markets continues to play a leading role in the development of African capital markets.”
For the development of the Framework, ER Group also benefited from the technical support of FSD Africa, a financial markets development agency based in Nairobi and funded by the UK Government.
Dr Evans Osano, Chief Financial Markets Officer, FSD Africa: “We commend ER Group’s leadership in aligning its capital-raising strategy with measurable sustainability outcomes. The dual-tranche structure, combining Use-of-Proceeds financing and a Sustainability-Linked Bond, demonstrates how complementary sustainable finance instruments can mobilise local-currency capital for climate resilience while setting an important precedent for corporate issuers across Africa. FSD Africa is honoured to have supported ER Group throughout the development of the Sustainable Finance Framework and the Second Party Opinion process, in line with our commitment to deepening sustainable finance markets across the region.”
The first applications across the Group
The SFF builds on the experience gained in 2023 with the green bond issued by EnVolt, a subsidiary of the Group’s Technology & Energy segment. What was then a pilot transaction is becoming a structured policy, applicable across all the Group’s segments.
It opens the way to structured financing for projects already under way across several of the Group’s businesses: solar capacity expansion with Ecoasis (Technology & Energy segment), green-certified real estate developments (Real Estate segment), the rollout of electric mobility solutions with Axess (Commerce & Manufacturing segment), as well as initiatives on water efficiency, circular economy practices and ecosystem restoration. These projects form the first pool of investments eligible under the framework.
Sophie Desvaux de Marigny, Chief Sustainability Executive of ER Group: “This framework changes the way our teams approach every project. The question is no longer solely whether an investment is profitable, but also how it concretely contributes to the transition of Mauritius in terms of energy, biodiversity and inclusion. For an island as exposed to climate risks as Mauritius, this level of rigour is not a luxury.”
With this framework, ER Group becomes one of the few corporate issuers in sub-Saharan Africa to have put in place a sustainable finance structure validated by Moody’s and applicable across all its activities. A strong signal for the markets, and a concrete commitment to Mauritius.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of ER Group.
For more information, please contact:
Melisa Virassamy
Communication Officer
E. communication@ergroup.mu
T. +230 490 4526
About:
A major player in the Mauritian economy and listed on the Stock Exchange, ER Group was born from the strategic merger of the ENL and Rogers groups. With more than 200 years of history for ENL and 125 years for Rogers, these two pillars of the Mauritian economy have shaped the country’s economic and social development over the long term. In 2025, they came together under a new identity – ER Group – which honours their shared heritage while setting out future ambitions, now carried with one voice.
Today, ER brings together nearly 13,000 employees and operates across 17 territories around the world. Drawing on a strong portfolio of recognised brands that lead in their fields, ER Group operates across 7 strategic segments: Agribusiness, Real Estate, Hospitality & Travel, Logistics, Finance, Commerce & Manufacturing, and Technology & Energy.
Guided by its purpose “Ignite today for a better tomorrow”, the Group is driven by its ambition to act responsibly, combining strengths, widening its horizons and playing an active part in shaping the future of a sustainable Mauritius.
