Advancing renewable energy production with green financial technology. Do institutional quality, exchange rate and the overall inflation rate matter

Purpose Renewable energy development has increasingly become important as every country is aiming to achieve the United Nations “Sustainable Development Goal” 7. This study aims to examine how developing countries, such as the Southern African countries, can achieve renewable energy development through green finance, exchange rate and institutional quality, amid low-levels financial development and income in this region. Design/methodology/approach Annual data of the 16 Southern African nations is used in this study from 2000 to 2023. The second-generation method, the “Method of Moments Quantile Regression”, that overcomes “cross-sectional dependency” issues and “heterogeneity” problems is used in the analysis. Findings The results presented in this research depicts that green finance, exchange rate appreciation and low-stable inflation rate improves renewable energy in these countries. Moreover, while economic growth is insignificant because of low-income levels in these nations, the positive coefficient depicts that national income may support renewable energy development. Originality/value This study’s originality is on its focus to understanding various techniques that may be useful for achieving green transition in the developing Southern African countries, with low-incomes. Key findings that are specific to the unique environment of the Southern African nations are given. Moreover, the findings of this study can be generalised to other developing nations with similar economic conditions.