6 July 2022: The EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFI) and social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit have agreed to co-invest US$ 4 million each in Canada-based Solar Panda. Solar Panda designs, manufactures and distributes pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar home systems to low-income communities in Kenya. This new partnership will sustain in-country growth of clean, safe and affordable domestic electricity.

With EDFI ElectriFI’s and Oikocredit’s financing, Solar Panda will use this investment to grow its product offerings, expand its footprint within Kenya (including into traditionally underserved counties) and also set the stage for further expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Over the next seven years, the funding will allow the company to connect over 100,000 households across North and North-East Kenya, the poorest regions of the country. Over time, Solar Panda will have deployed 8.4MW of renewable energy, allowing the avoidance of 400,000+ tons of CO2.

Since 2018, Solar Panda has provided more than 200,000 solar home systems across Kenya from its 37 retail branches, making it one of the fastest growing companies in the sector. It employs more than 300 staff in Kenya and has a network of over 1000 independent sales agents.

Andy Keith, founder and CEO at Solar Panda, said: “We are excited to partner with leading global impact investors Oikocredit and EDFI ElectriFI and thankful that this funding will help us ramp up our efforts at making electricity access universal” said Andy Keith, founder and CEO of Solar Panda. “I’m very proud of the growth and success our team has been able to achieve over the past 4 years and, with nearly 1 billion people in the world without access to electricity, we feel we are just getting started.  We appreciate that EDFI ElectriFI and Oikocredit have shown such great confidence in our approach to balancing commercial pragmatism with our commitment to customers and look forward to working together.”

The EDFI ElectriFI investment falls under its dedicated window for Kenya, a strategy designed specifically for the country, in close collaboration with local authorities and the EU Delegation.

Lionel Dieu, ElectriFI Senior Investment Officer at EDFI Management Company, said: “We are extremely delighted to become a shareholder of Solar Panda. The company has displayed impressive growth over the last years and demonstrated strong resilience amid COVID. Through this co-investment with Oikocredit, we aim at supporting the company in its next stage of development and realize its full potential. This includes reaching an increasing amount of households with no access to electricity in Kenya underserved counties i.e. Northern regions displaying higher (energy) poverty levels.”

Alexander Remy, Equity Officer at Oikocredit, said: “In a short period of time, Solar Panda has demonstrated its capabilities in designing and selling quality solar home systems needed by many households across Kenya. We are happy with the strong local talent they have assembled and are certain they can continue delivering positive results. As an equity investor in a partner like Solar Panda, we will collaborate and continue directing our efforts to make clean energy accessible and improving the quality of life of thousands more households for the communities we serve”.

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About Solar Panda: Solar Panda, headquartered in Canada and Nairobi, is on a journey to give every household access to solar energy — to light their home, improve their health, charge their mobile phone, and provide a window to the world through radio and TV.  Launched in 2017, Solar Panda has grown quickly due to its high-quality products, affordable pricing, excellent customer service, and direct sales strategy.  Solar Panda was ranked the 3rd fastest growing company in Canada in 2021 by Report on Business Magazine, a publication of Canada’s newspaper of record, the Globe and Mail.  Now in more than 200,000 homes, Solar Panda (www.solarpanda.com) is bringing clean, affordable electricity to over 1 million Kenyans. For more information, visit: www.solarpanda.com.

About EDFI ElectriFI: The Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFI) is an impact investment facility supporting access to reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity and energy services in challenging markets, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. It receives funding from the European Union, USAID’s Power Africa programme, the Government of Sweden and the Government of Italy. Brussels-based EDFI Management Company manages ElectriFI among other development finance initiatives. For more information, visit: www.electrifi.eu.

About Oikocredit: Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has 45 years of experience funding organisations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy.

Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably. Oikocredit finances over 500 partners, with total development financing capital outstanding of € 1,015.2 million (at 31 March 2022). For more information, visit: www.oikocredit.coop.

6 July 2022: Symbiotics, the leading market access platform for impact investing, granted Baobab+ EUR 5 million loan to strengthen its presence in 6 African countries to expand electrifications at a larger scale. The funding from Symbiotics comes 9 months after Norfund’s investment of EUR 10 million in equity in Baobab+, and will allow the company to achieve the goal of equipping one million households with solar and digital products within 5 years.

Solar energy represents an exceptional opportunity for rural households that do not have access to electricity. Already active in Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Madagascar, Nigeria and Democratic Republic of the Congo, Baobab+ has equipped 250,000 households and served more than 1,500,000 beneficiaries in the past 6 years with a “Pay-As-You-Go” (PAYG) model that breaks down the cost barrier. Customers are allowed to make daily, weekly, or monthly payments according to their cash flow in order to activate and ultimately gain ownership of their device.

For Baobab+, access to energy is a springboard to enable every African household to take part in the digital revolution. In Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali and Madagascar, Baobab+ has been a pioneer in launching PAYG smartphone services and has also, to date, equipped more than 110,000 households with digital solutions. Baobab+ provides content that meets its customers’ needs, such as e-education, or the management of small business activities.

In partnership with its parent company: the Baobab Microfinance Group, a major player in access to financial inclusion in Africa, Baobab+ has developed a unique scoring framework that allows its PAYG clients to become eligible for micro-loans, using repayment history from the solar or digital product to assess clients creditworthiness. This proprietary solution, initially introduced in Senegal, will be gradually deployed in all countries.

“Baobab+ is reaching a new stage of its development, the support from Symbiotics will allow us to strengthen our presence, particularly in Nigeria and DR Congo, where we have recently launched operations. It’s really great for us to have an impact investor like Symbiotics by our side, to support us in our growth!”, said Alexandre Coster, Baobab+ Co-founder and CEO.

“We are happy of this partnership and to support the rapid growth of Baobab+ across Africa. We believe Baobab+ fosters a strong environmental and social impact through its energy access offering, which provides households and micro-entrepreneurs based in rural off-grid areas access to clean and safe energy.”, stated Vincent Lehner, Symbiotics Head of Markets Division.

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About Baobab+: Launched in 2015 and operating in six African countries, Baobab+ is a social enterprise that supports households and micro-entrepreneurs in their energy autonomy through the distribution of solar kits, with 250,000 households already equipped (1.5 million beneficiaries), particularly in rural areas. In addition to this primary vocation, the Baobab Group’s subsidiary offers digital devices for educational and professional purposes, with more than 110,000 households (400,000 beneficiaries) already equipped. These products benefit from financing facilities to make them accessible to all. For more information, visit: baobabplus.com or baobabgroup.com.

About Symbiotics: Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing, dedicated to financing microsmall and medium enterprises and low- and middle-income households in emerging and frontier markets. Since 2005, Symbiotics has structured and originated some 6,500 deals for over 520 companies in almost 95 emerging and frontier markets representing more than USD 6.5 billion. These investments have been purchased by more than 25 fund mandates and more than 50 third party specialized fund managers, forming a growing ecosystem and marketplace for such transactions. For more information, visit: symbioticsgroup.com.

4 July 2022: CFAO Kenya Limited a subsidiary of CFAO group (Corporation for Africa and Overseas) proceeds to invest in OFGEN Limited a leader of solar PV installation for commercial and industrial use in East Africa.

CFAO Kenya has worked with OFGEN Limited since 2018 to solarize CFAO Group-owned premises within Kenya and Uganda. CFAO group will continue to leverage on OFGEN’s expertise in commercial solar PV installation to solarize all its business premises within the East African Region, in line with the Group carbon neutrality programme and commitment to 50% reduction in its CO2 emission by 2030. With this investment, CFAO group’s ambition is also to contribute to promoting initiatives towards expanding the use of renewable energy in Africa.

Amb. Dennis Awori, Chairman and Country Delegate of CFAO Kenya said OFGEN’s impressive footprint and project pipeline made it a strong addition to the group’s renewable energy portfolio and the investment will help CFAO group accelerate the penetration of the Commercial & Industrial renewable energy market.

‘Our company shall not relent in creating and passing on a better global environment to the children of the future in countries where we do business by aligning our operations and activities with the global sustainability agenda. With six installations already in operation across Kenya and Uganda, our roadmap is to equip all the remaining CFAO premises in over 10 countries in the East and Southern Africa region with photovoltaic panels to reduce carbon emissions from our business operations in the region by more than 1,000 tons per year by the year 2024” Added Amb. Awori.

”CFAO’s investment suits OFGEN’s short and long-term objectives of creating sustainable development through the provision of efficient and innovative renewable energy solutions in the region on an exciting new scale. To this effect, OFGEN intends to utilize CFAO Group’s extensive footprint across the continent to expand into other African markets.” Said Mr. Jibril Omar the Founder and CEO of OFGEN Limited.

Kenya’s industrial policy aims at inclusive growth, job creation, and poverty reduction through the promotion of a globally competitive manufacturing sector. Despite being a global leader in the adoption of renewable sources for electricity production, Kenya experiences huge transmission and distribution losses of power. This has contributed to the high cost of energy that undermines Kenya’s ability to compete for manufacturing jobs, especially in East Africa. In view of this challenge, OFGEN’s promotion of onsite energy production and consumption through industrial solar PV installation seeks to strengthen the competitiveness of Kenya’s manufacturing sector by reducing energy costs. The company has developed innovative solutions including smart financing models and monitoring systems that can support large scale deployment of industrial solar PV solutions in Kenya.

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About OFGEN: OFGEN, established in 2014, is one of the leading turnkey solar energy companies that develops, designs, procures, constructs, operates, and maintains photovoltaic systems around East Africa for the commercial and industrial sectors. Recently the company added funded solutions in its offer to clients.

To date, the company has cumulatively built and financed over 30+ on-grid and off-grid solar plants with 10+ MWp solar capacity and 9.3MWh of battery energy across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan markets. The company has delivered projects for the likes of Williamson Tea Estate, GlaxoSmithKline, Serena Group of Hotels, Toyota, and British American Tobacco.

About CFAO Kenya Ltd.: CFAO Kenya Limited is a subsidiary of the CFAO Group. The CFAO Group, Corporation for Africa & Overseas, contributes to growth and industrialization in Africa while catering to the continent’s emerging middle class. With a revenue of over €6.9 billion, access to 47 of the 54 countries on the continent, and nearly 21,000 employees, CFAO is a key player in mobility, healthcare, consumer, infrastructure, and energy. Besides being present in Kenya in 3 of the 4 business domains, the Group, through CFAO Kenya Limited is a key factor in renewable energy and infrastructure projects, as well as investment and scale-up of the various start-ups in the mobility sector in the country. In addition, the company is also present in farming technology, providing Agri-mechanization solutions to farmers in Kenya.

4 July 2022: The Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA) has today called for more support from governments and donors to the minigrid sector in Africa, which has shown strong resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic but continues to face financial, policy, and regulatory constraints.

This follows the launch of the second edition of ‘Benchmarking Africa’s Minigrids report,’ a flagship report for AMDA, an industry association created by minigrid developers to boost the health of the sector and deliver on global renewable energy access objectives.

The report shows that the minigrid industry in Africa doubled the number of people it connected to modern and reliable electricity in the last two years amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, more than 500,000 people, healthcare facilities, schools and businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa are now accessing stable electricity thanks to minigrids.

However, the sector is struggling to scale up and realise its potential to accelerate access to clean and affordable energy, particularly in rural areas in a continent with nearly half its population, 600 million people, still lacking access to electricity.

“We have an opportunity to build dynamic, intelligent and renewable energy infrastructure that helps grow communities and economies. Energy is the foundation for all of the SDG’s and as such needs the kind of support from Governments and donors that traditional utilities have received. This is critical for the sector to realise this potential and provide stable renewable energy infrastructure to Hundreds Millions of people” says Jessica Stephens, Chief Executive Officer at Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA).

Highlights of the findings

The report presents an in-depth analysis of changes that occurred in the industry in 2020 and 2021, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and uncovers emerging opportunities for achieving immediate scale and long-term sustainability.

Key findings include:

Sector Growth: The number of connections almost doubled from 40,700 connections to more than 78,000. The number of operational private sector minigrids grew by 39%, from 288 sites in 2019 to 400 in 2021.

Revenues and Operating Expenses (OPEX): Revenues grew consistently as operational costs dropped, indicating that the industry is approaching financial viability. The Average Revenue Per User (ARPU), a key metric of industry sustainability and business success, was $8.30 per month for sites commissioned before 2019, up from $4.29 in the previous AMDA report.

Slow disbursement: Financing of the sector remained slow due to the continued government bias toward the centralised grid. In 2020, only 13% ($208 million) of the $1.6 billion of concessional capital committed to the minigrid industry was disbursed to minigrid developers despite progress on all business metrics across the industry. Perceived risk, complex fund design and the time frame to get through regulatory compliance are hindering the ability to disburse concessional capital.

Policy and Regulations: Licensing remains a substantial hurdle with projects often taking more than a year for approval due to complex regulatory frameworks. There is an urgent need to create a regulatory structure that reflects the decentralized nature of minigrids, that allows for bundling sites and bulk licensing of portfolios.

Minigrids as the Growth Engine for Local Economies: Minigrids continue to outperform national and sub-national utilities on service metrics, including up-time, power quality, number of reliable connections and downstream job creation.

“We hope that the insights provided in this report will spur action. AMDA is collaborating with sector players to address market barriers and leapfrog the development and scaling of minigrids that are essential in ensuring the achievement of energy access goals,” said Jessica.

The Report was prepared in partnership with Odyssey Energy Solutions and Economic Consulting Associates (ECA). It builds on data and findings from the first benchmarking report published in 2020. It is the first and only sectoral report that provides a comparative analysis of consumption and revenue trends for the same minigrid sites over multiple years.

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About Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA): AMDA is an industry association created by private sector minigrid developers and operators, donors and investors seeking to improve market conditions for minigrid companies. This includes working to improve policy, regulation and investment towards ending energy poverty by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Today, AMDA represents over

42 companies, who are operating minigrids across 19 countries. For more information, visit: africamda.org.

1 July 2022: The three-day Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) took place in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on 28-30 June 2022. The decentralised renewable energy (DRE) industry and investors came together to participate in the two-track programme, lively exhibition, GET.invest Matchmaking sessions, and receptions. Supported by the European Union and GET.invest, EAIF 2022 attracted over 1,200 participants including private and public investors, industry representatives and public officials.The event was sponsored by AfDB, ENGIE Energy Access, Sagemcom, Schneider Electric, TCX, WaterKiosk, AECF, BAE Batterien, BURN, D-REC Initiative, NRECA International, Okra Solar, Phaesun, and REPP.

Together with GET.invest – a European programme that mobilises investment in renewable energy in developing countries, supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria -ARE facilitated over 520 scheduled matchmaking meetings between investors, technology providers, project developers, as well as development partners and innovators in the DRE sector.

The Forum was opened with high-level welcome remarks emphasising the importance of accelerating efforts to achieve a higher uptake of DRE from the Tanzanian Minister of Energy, Hon. January Yusuf Makamba, AfDB, IRENA, ARE, as well as Manfredo Fanti, Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union to Tanzania who said: “The EU sees catalysing private sector investments in DRE as a critical part of the EU Global Gateway strategy enabling sustainable energy connections that work for the people and the planet. As a follow-up to the EU-Africa Business Forum in February, EAIF is a perfect occasion for public and private investors, industry, governments and other stakeholders to contribute to this objective and develop business partnerships. On that note, the EU is proud to partner with ARE for this year’s edition of the EAIF.”

Speakers on the first day’s high-level panels discussed the critical role that green recovery initiatives can play in catalysing private sector investments to boost green recovery efforts across Sub-saharan Africa. Following the high-level panels, the Forum moved on to thematic and pitching sessions on green mini-grid investments, productive use approaches, and working capital for DRE companies.

The agenda for the second day was packed with sessions in French and English, focusing on business and investment opportunities in the renewable electrification sector in various countries such as Mozambique, Burundi, Uganda, Congo, Nigeria, and Benin. Speakers on the second day highlighted the importance of working together to create a more conducive market environment to catalyse investment in the DRE sector.

Joao Duarte Cunha, Division Manager, Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa managed by the African Development Bank said: “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, EAIF 2022 has shown that the DRE community is as vibrant as ever. Still, there is much to be done towards a robust and better capitalised sector. We look forward to continuing our support to countries and businesses with our growing suite of catalytic finance instruments. We are also grateful to ARE for providing this unique platform for dialogue and action to accelerate energy access in Africa.”

Moreover, the event created many networking occasions for attendees. On top of the GET.invest matchmaking sessions, industry representatives had the opportunity to meet investors, financiers and government officials during breaks and evening receptions.

On the final day of the EAIF 2022, the sessions were solely focused on Tanzania’s renewable electrification sector, providing industry representatives from Tanzania and international investors with a unique opportunity to do business and develop partnerships. Speakers put a spotlight on renewable electrification, the blue economy and innovative renewable energy solutions in Tanzania.

Wrapping up the three-day event, David Lecoque, CEO, ARE concluded: “On behalf of ARE, I would like to thank all participants who joined EAIF 2022 on-site and virtually. This year’s event was a concrete step taken towards reaching universal energy access with the GET.invest matchmaking sessions, exhibition, panel discussions, thematic and pitching sessions and more. It is only through extensive cooperation that we can achieve SDG-7. The region and the sector is open for business. Now, it is time to invest in renewable electrification!”

• Scaling up off-grid solar power model for transforming rural energy access across Africa | EIB financing to improve access to access to electricity for 643,000 people | Local currency financing to accelerate PAYGO solution for affordable green energy.

21 June 2022: Households, smallholders and entrepreneurs in remote locations across Benin will be able to access reliable and cheap electricity for the first time under a new off-grid solar scheme agreed between leading solar energy company ENGIE Energy Access and the European Investment Bank, one of the world’s largest financiers of renewable energy.

The European Investment Bank has agreed to provide a EUR 10 million loan to support the deployment of 107,000 high-quality solar home systems to Benin. This will open up access to clean energy for 643,000 people. The solar home systems include solar panels and battery storage to be sold on Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) contracts.

Ambroise Fayolle, the European Investment Bank Vice President, said: “Vulnerable communities across Africa are being impacted by global energy shocks triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and so improving access to affordable and clean energy is even more important to fight poverty, create jobs and empower women and girls. The European Investment Bank is pleased to agree new support for scaling up off-grid solar deployment to West Africa under this new partnership with ENGIE.

“For the first time, more than half a million people across Benin will be able to access electricity that will power communications, provide light and make cooking easier. Deployment of solar home systems will also reduce the usage of kerosene, charcoal, candles and generators to help families save money, reduce pollution and reduce the risk of accidents. Unlocking sustainable, economic and social development through off-grid solar is key for Africa’s future and to reduce the impact of global energy shocks, The EIB is pleased to back this project in Benin.”

Gillian-Alexandre Huart, ENGIE Energy Access CEO, said: “Over the last couple of years, the private sector has developed off-grid solutions such as solar home systems (SHS), micro- and mini-grids, which have clearly proven to be sustainable and economical solutions to reach universal energy access by 2030. Thanks to the use of digital tools and the strong penetration of mobile money in Sub-Saharan Africa, ENGIE Energy Access sells access-to-energy products to our customers on credit to make them affordable. It is clear that a combination of capital from private investors and impact funds from multilateral funds is needed in order to reach the amount of funding necessary to realize the energy transition and to meet SDG7 in Africa.”

Gillian-Alexandre Huart, ENGIE Energy Access CEO: “Our new partnership with the European Investment Bank in Benin will provide ultra-affordable PAYGO systems to people in villages across the country, giving access to clean solar energy and financial empowerment. With its sustainable integrated business model, ENGIE Energy Access is now serving 1.5 million customers, impacting over 7 million lives in Sub-Saharan Africa, reaching people in low-income communities or rural areas who are often left out of the economy.”

The new Benin cooperation follows EIB’s previous support for ENGIE to deploy off-grid solar power in Uganda. Benin is the sixth African country to benefit from the EIB’s streamlined support for African off-grid energy investment, following recent backing for projects in Mozambique, Uganda, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Comoros.

Solving the last mile challenge to provide power in remote communities across Benin

More than one million households are dependent on polluting and inefficient lighting by kerosene or candles, and increasingly expensive generators.

Less than one in five people living in remote and rural communities across Benin have access to reliable electricity and only 10% of households are using off-grid solar products.

By scaling up adoption of off-grid solar technology in Benin, this new initiative will provide economic, social, educational and health opportunities for families and entrepreneurs who cannot be connected to the electricity network.

Supporting private sector growth and sustainable development in Benin

Following the new agreement between ENGIE and the European Investment Bank, households, entrepreneurs and smallholders across Benin will be able to access electricity for mobile phones, solar lighting, refrigeration, radio and television. This will help farmers to sell their produce, improve the health of communities and create new markets for traders.

Increased provision of reliable and affordable energy will create new opportunities for women and girls and reduce exposure to indoor pollution from current kerosene use.

Sylvia Hartleif, Ambassador of the European Union to Benin, said: “The European Union is committed to supporting sustainable economic and social development across Benin. This new cooperation initiative between the European Investment Bank and ENGIE demonstrates the value added of European engagement with our African partners to transform energy access and fight against climate change. Harnessing renewable energy through private sector engagement and innovative off-grid solar technology, combined with productive use of power in rural areas, is a direct and concrete result of the European Union’s ‘Green Deal’ for Africa. The initiative will provide new opportunities for more than half a million people across Benin and will pave the way to the clean energy transition, in line with the EU’s ‘Global Gateway’ strategy.”

Unlocking financial empowerment and overcoming currency barriers

The provision of the PAYGO model will allow families unable to afford the upfront costs of solar home systems to pay for the equipment over a duration of some years at less than USD 20 cents a day. The new European Investment Bank financing will also allow repayment of equipment purchased in US dollars in local currency. Previously, currency fluctuations hindered provision of affordable, clean energy solutions to communities without access to foreign currency. Customers will also benefit from cheaper costs and easier repayment through use of mobile banking.

Building on the EIB’s renewable energy track record in Benin and across Africa

Over the last decade, the European Investment Bank has provided more than EUR 5.4 billion for clean energy investment across Africa. In recent years, the European Investment Bank has been a leading financial for the Bujagali hydropower project in Uganda and Nachtigal hydropower scheme in Cameroon, the Lake Turkana Wind Farm, Olkaria Geothermal plant and the Radiant and Eldosol solar schemes in Kenya, as well as financing last-mile connections in Kenya and cross-border interconnectors in West, East and Southern Africa. The EIB is also supporting studies to harness hydropower to transform clean energy in Burundi and the Great Lakes region.

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About the European Investment Bank: The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals.

20 June 2022: Husk Power Systems, the leading net-zero energy company serving rural Africa and Asia and operator of the largest fleet of community solar-hybrid microgrids, today announced its “Nigeria Sunshot Initiative”, a multiyear effort to benefit at least 2 million Nigerians with reliable, renewable energy by 2026.

The initiative consists of a three-part strategy: 1) demonstrating accelerated microgrid deployment at scale, 2) improving livelihoods by providing financing for the purchase of energy efficiency appliances (for both households and MSMEs) and 3) catalyzing greater local socio-economic development by rolling out productive use activities, including agri-processing and cold storage.

“Husk Power will do its utmost to support federal, state and local governments to deliver on Nigeria’s goal of universal electrification by 2030,” said Olu Aruike, Country Manager of Husk Nigeria. “With more than 90 million Nigerians still living without access to energy, the Nigeria Sunshot is a real-world demonstration that the microgrid industry is ready to scale, and drive rural economic growth with a net-zero, resilient solution.”

Key goals of the Nigeria Sunshot include:

• Building at least 500 microgrids by 2026;
• Establishing 400,000 connections that benefit over 2 million people;
• Taking at least 25,000 diesel and gasoline generators offline;
• Providing affordable energy to 8,000 women-led business customers;
• Electrifying 700 public health clinics and 200 private hospitals, and 100 public schools.

According to recent Nigerian government data, solar microgrids represent the least-cost technology for 8.9 million of the 19.8 million additional connections needed in the country to achieve universal electrification. Under the Sunshot Initiative, Husk will be able to provide about 5% of those connections, and impact 1% of the total Nigerian population.

In late 2021, Husk became the first company to commission multiple microgrids at once in Nigeria, clearly demonstrating the ability to scale. Husk expects to end 2022 with more than 20 microgrids in operation.

Besides its presence in Nigeria and Tanzania, Husk is also in discussions to enter multiple new markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. By scaling in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, Husk will be able to expand and achieve even greater impact. Overall, Husk committed in a 2022 UN Energy Compact to build 5,000 microgrids by 2030.

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About Husk Power Systems: Founded in 2008, Husk Power Systems is the leading net-zero energy services company operating across Asia and Africa. Its smart and sustainable solutions, centered around community solar microgrids, accelerate access to clean, modern and affordable electricity and catalyze socio-economic development. Husk’s focus on the customer meets the growing aspirations of businesses and households, while its grid-integratable solution supports national electrification plans. For more information, visit: huskpowersystems.com.

• IEA’s Africa Energy Outlook 2022 sets out path to bring modern energy access to all Africans this decade while creating new growth industries in critical minerals and green hydrogen.

20 June 2022: Today’s crippling spikes in energy prices underscore the urgency and the benefits for African countries of accelerating the scale up of cheaper and cleaner sources of energy, the IEA says in a new special report released today.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has sent food, energy and other commodity prices soaring, increasing the strains on African economies already hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The overlapping crises are affecting many parts of Africa’s energy systems, including reversing positive trends in improving access to modern energy, with 25 million more people in Africa living without electricity today compared with before the pandemic, according to the Africa Energy Outlook 2022.

At the same time, Africa is also already facing more severe effects from climate change than most other parts of the world – including massive droughts – despite bearing the least responsibility for the problem. Africa accounts for less than 3% of the world’s energy-related CO2 emissions to date and has the lowest emissions per capita of any region.

Despite these challenges, the report finds that the global clean energy transition holds new promise for Africa’s economic and social development, with solar, other renewables and emerging areas such as critical minerals and green hydrogen offering strong growth potential if managed well. Increased international ambitions for cutting emissions are helping set a new course for the global energy sector amid declining clean technology costs and shifting global investment patterns. African countries are poised to benefit from these trends and attract increasing flows of climate finance.

“Africa has had the raw end of the deal from the fossil fuel-based economy, receiving the smallest benefits and the biggest drawbacks, as underlined by the current energy crisis,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director. “The new global energy economy that is emerging offers a more hopeful future for Africa, with huge potential for solar and other renewables to power its development – and new industrial opportunities in critical minerals and green hydrogen.”

“The immediate and absolute priority for Africa and the international community is to bring modern and affordable energy to all Africans – and our new report shows this can be achieved by the end of this decade through annual investment of $25 billion, the same amount needed to build just one new LNG terminal a year,” Dr Birol added. “It is morally unacceptable that the ongoing injustice of energy poverty in Africa isn’t being resolved when it is so clearly well within our means to do so.”

The Africa Energy Outlook 2022 explores a Sustainable Africa Scenario in which all African energy-related development goals are achieved on time and in full. This includes universal access to modern energy services by 2030 and the full implementation of all African climate pledges.

With demand for energy services in Africa set to grow rapidly, ensuring affordability is an urgent priority. Increased energy efficiency is essential for this, since it reduces fuel imports, eases strains on existing infrastructure and keeps consumer bills affordable.

Expanded and improved electricity grids provide the backbone of Africa’s new energy systems in this scenario, and are powered increasingly by renewables. Africa is home to 60% of the best solar resources worldwide, but it currently holds only 1% of solar PV capacity. Already the cheapest source of power in many parts of Africa, solar is set to outcompete all other sources continent-wide by 2030. Renewables – including solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal – account for over 80% of new power generation capacity added by 2030 in the Sustainable Africa Scenario.

While renewables are the driving force for Africa’s electricity sector this decade, the continent’s industrialisation relies in part on expanding natural gas use. More than 5 000 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas resources have been discovered to date in Africa that have not yet been approved for development. These resources could provide an additional 90 bcm of gas a year by 2030, which may well be vital for Africa’s domestic fertiliser, steel, cement and water desalination industries. Cumulative CO2 emissions from the use of these gas resources over the next 30 years would be around 10 billion tonnes. If these emissions were added to Africa’s cumulative total today, they would bring its share of global emissions to a mere 3.5%.

Africa’s vast resources of minerals that are critical for multiple clean energy technologies are set to create new export markets but need to be managed well, with Africa’s revenues from critical mineral exports set to more than double by 2030.

A number of low-carbon hydrogen projects are underway, focused primarily on producing ammonia for fertilisers, which would strengthen Africa’s food security. Africa has huge potential to produce hydrogen using its rich renewable resources. As much as today’s energy demand could be produced at internationally competitive price points by 2030.

Achieving Africa’s energy and climate goals means more than doubling energy investment this decade. This would take it over USD 190 billion each year from 2026 to 2030, with two-thirds going to clean energy.

“Multilateral development banks must take urgent action to increase financial flows to Africa for both developing its energy sector and adapting to climate change,” said Dr Birol. “The continent’s energy future requires stronger efforts on the ground that are backed by global support. The COP27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt in late 2022 provides a crucial platform for African leaders to set the agenda for the coming years. This decade is critical not only for global climate action but also for the foundational investments that will allow Africa – home to the world’s youngest population – to flourish in the decades to come.”

• Platform to provide low-cost financing for clean energy deployment in Africa;
• ENGIE Energy Access has delivered renewable energy to 7 million people across 9 countries to date.

9 June 2022: ENGIE Energy Access, the leading off-grid, Pay-As-You-Go solar and mini-grid solutions provider in Africa, and Energy Web, the non-profit building operating systems for energy grids, announce the successful launch of Crowdfund for Solar, a platform to harness the potential of decentralized finance (DeFi) to bring solar installations to energy-deficient communities.

The platform will enable access to low-cost finance for the deployment of solar home systems (SHS) for households and communities, initially operating in select low-electrification countries where reliable energy is urgently needed.

Built by Energy Web on behalf of ENGIE and operating using Energy Web’s open-source technology stack, Crowdfund for Solar allows investors to stake Energy Web Tokens (EWT) in exchange for a fixed return. This crowdfunding platform ran for two weeks in a pilot period, with an initial investment target of USD$100,000 or 20,000 EWT. The target was reached within just 7 hours after the official launch, which indicates the success of this pilot and signals immense appetite from the crypto community to support the solution further.

Despite Africa having a high capacity for solar, more than half of Sub-Saharan Africa currently lacks access to electricity and low-cost financing for clean energy solutions, forcing communities to rely on dangerous and dirty energy sources such as kerosene or coal. In some more remote rural areas, customers are often unbanked, and face difficulties acquiring credit.

Through Crowdfund for Solar, ENGIE Energy Access will deploy its high-quality, expandable solar home systems (SHS) to countries in need, such as Rwanda and Zambia, due to their low electrification rates. This will support the health, quality of life and economic prosperity of communities in off-grid and remote regions.

The recipients, which will include schools, households and small businesses, will be provided with SHS under a lease-to-own model, paid for in affordable installments. ENGIE Energy Access aims to prioritize women among the recipients, and to provide at least 30% of the loans to women-led households. Repayments on loans will be used to cover staked EWT, with 10% interest returned to participant investors.

Jesse Morris, Energy Web CEO, said: “Broadening access to clean energy is at the core of Energy Web’s mission. We’re proud to be able to employ the Energy Web technology stack on behalf of ENGIE Energy Access to support electricity access in deficient regions. With Crowdfund for Solar, we’re directing the power of the Energy Web community and DeFi to tackle financing challenges, one of the biggest barriers to renewable energy uptake. Enterprises and households receive a low-cost loan and EWT stakers receive 10% back on their investment – along with the chance to play their part in driving an equitable global energy transition.”

Gillian-Alexandre Huart, ENGIE Energy Access CEO, said: “With Africa’s population predicted to double by 2050, electrifying the continent with clean energy has never been more urgent. This new staking pool will allow multiple stakeholders to combine their computational resources as a way of being rewarded while helping to solve Sub-Saharan Africa’s electrification challenges. It is also a promising, novel and transparent way of applying DeFi to the access-to-energy paradigm. I am excited by this initial pilot period as I am convinced that the platform has extraordinary potential to scale up and support ENGIE Energy Access in providing impactful clean power to millions across Africa.”

The platform will initially be used to provide loans for solar but in future there is broad potential to expand to other energy solutions. Following the one-year loan period, a full report will be provided on the outcome of the financing, including the number of installations, their distribution across different countries, and verification of the demographic target for the loans.

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About Energy Web: Energy Web is a global, member-driven non-profit accelerating the low-carbon, customer-centric energy transition by unleashing the potential of open-source, digital technologies. Our Energy Web Decentralized Operating System (EW-DOS) enables any energy asset, owned by any customer, to participate in any energy market. The Energy Web Chain — the world’s first enterprise-grade, public blockchain tailored to the energy sector — anchors the EW-DOS tech stack. The Energy Web ecosystem comprises leading utilities, grid operators, renewable energy developers, corporate energy buyers, IoT / telecom leaders, and others.

About ENGIE Energy Access: ENGIE Energy Access is the leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) and mini-grids solutions provider in Africa. The company develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, enabling customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. The PAYGo solar home systems are financed through affordable installments from $0.19 per day and the mini-grids foster economic development by enabling electrical productive use and triggering business opportunities for entrepreneurs in rural communities. With over 1,700 employees, operations in nine countries across Africa (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), almost 1.5 million customers and 7 million lives impacted so far, ENGIE Energy Access aims to impact 20 million lives across Africa by 2025.

2 June 2022: The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) will open a funding round in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at the end of June 2022. At the BGFA Steering Committee meeting related to the DRC Country Programme, the Donor (Sweden), gave green light to the launch. This is BGFA’s fourth Call for Proposals (BGFA4) to incentivise clean off-grid energy solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa, with a widely dispersed population of 94.7 million people. With widespread energy poverty and a national grid that does not reach the majority of the population, there is enormous potential for off-grid solutions for solar home systems, mini-grids and productive-use appliances. The upcoming funding round aims to accelerate the entrance and scale-up of commercially sustainable businesses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a focus on reaching underserved communities in the country.

“The market scoping undertaken during spring 2022 confirmed the acute need for energy access in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with very limited affordability for off-grid energy solutions in most parts of the country. Therefore, we are happy to announce that we will shortly launch an initial funding round in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support the market development and scale-up of energy access across solar home systems, mini-grids and productive use of energy,” commented Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Senior Programme Manager at Nefco.

Sweden is supporting the upcoming Call for Proposals, which will total EUR 15 million in financial incentives, as well as the expansion of BGFA to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to support the country in building up a sustainable energy system and increasing the affordability of off-grid solutions.

“The BGFA will be an important part of the increasing Swedish engagement in DRC within environment, climate and sustainable use of natural resources. Access to sustainable energy is key for development and resilience and the BGFA will not only support the development of a sustainable energy sector, but most importantly create opportunities and improve the lives of the Congolese people.”, commented Gustav Isaksson, Program officer Environment, Climate and sustainable use of natural resources at the Swedish embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Call for Proposals, opening on 21 June 2022, invites private sector companies, i.e. energy service providers in the off-grid sector, to apply for the programme through an online application process divided into two stages. Detailed information, selection criteria and guidelines will be made available on the BGFA website beyondthegrid.africa when the funding round opens.

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About BGFA: The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa is a multi-donor facility established and managed by Nefco – the Nordic Green Bank. Nefco is an international financial institution based in Helsinki, Finland, focusing on environmental and climate investments. The BGFA programme is implemented together with its two project implementation partners. BGFA is implemented in partnership with REEEP (the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership), an international multilateral partnership based in Vienna, Austria, working to accelerate market-based deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions in developing countries.

The current EUR 107.6 million BGFA programme was established in 2019 on Sweden’s initiative through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Sweden contributes SEK 835 million (EUR 80 million) from the Swedish embassies in the target countries. It has since been developed by Nefco into a multi-donor programme. Denmark, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, joined the BGFA programme in December 2020 and is now providing DKK 117.5 million (EUR 15.8 million) to support the programme in Uganda. Power Africa, an initiative administered by USAID, is providing an in-kind technical assistance contribution worth USD 4.5 million (approx. EUR 4 million) over three years to help operationalise the initiative and develop a pipeline of commercially viable projects within the framework of BGFA. Germany, through its development bank KfW, has joined the BGFA country programme for Zambia with a focus on mini-grids, providing EUR 7.5 million.

• Spark+ Africa Fund is a pioneering impact fund investing in access to clean and modern energy solutions for cooking in frontier markets in Africa;
• BURN Manufacturing is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high–quality, life–improving cooking solutions for the mass market in sub–Saharan Africa.

1 June 2022: Enabling Qapital (“EQ”) and Stichting Modern Cooking (“SMC”) are pleased to announce the initial investment of Spark+ Africa Fund (“Spark+” or the “Fund”).

Spark+, which had its first closing in March, has invested USD 4 million via a long–term quasi–equity instrument in BURN Manufacturing (“BURN”), a Kenyan manufacturing company that specializes in the design and manufacture of biomass, electric, and LPG cookstoves that save consumers time and money, improve health, reduce harmful pollution, and limit the use of wood and charcoal.

The Fund’s investment will enable BURN to meaningfully increase the capacity of its industry–leading, industrial–scale manufacturing facility in Nairobi, and finance the expansion of its business in new markets including Somalia, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, and the DRC. The company has ambitious plans to serve 47 Million customers over the next seven years, which will create over 2,000 jobs and offset 72 Million tons of CO2e, the equivalent of 2 million cars on the road each year.

Spark+ was advised by University of Michigan Law School’s International Transactions Clinic (“ITC”) supervised by Carl Valenstein, a Partner at Morgan Lewis Bockius. BURN was advised by Sidley & Austin.

Peter George, Investment Director of Spark+ and Chairman of Stichting Modern Cooking: “This transaction is the result of a long and fruitful relationship with BURN. We’re incredibly pleased how the BURN team has leveraged a $500,000 start–up grant from the Clean Cooking Alliance in 2013 to become a true leader in its space. This investment also illustrates the role Spark+ intends to play in scaling up growth–stage ventures, and we look forward to supporting BURN as it extends its reach across Africa.”

Xavier Pierluca, Investment Director of Spark+ and Managing Partner of EQ: “BURN Manufacturing has demonstrated market–leading innovation capabilities, designing stoves for various fuels and consumer demographics, all while achieving scale in local production of quality products in Africa. We are very excited to engage in a long–term financing relationship with the company to support its growth in new geographies to limit greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation across the Continent.”

Peter Scott, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BURN Manufacturing: “As we embark on the most ambitious growth plans in our company’s history – expanding to new markets across Africa, increasing our production capacities, and launching new product lines – we are grateful to receive this timely investment from Spark+ Africa Fund. This funding will assist us in reaching new heights as the global leader of clean cooking design and manufacturing, and will allow us to continue executing upon our mission of saving lives and forests across the African continent. We are pleased that Spark+ has chosen BURN as their initial investment and we welcome their partnership on our shared journey.”

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About clean cooking solutions: 900 million people in sub–Saharan Africa lack clean and modern energy for cooking. Without the electric stoves and piped natural gas prevalent in developed countries, they are forced to spend an estimated $35 billion annually on unhealthy and polluting open fires, charcoal, and kerosene. According to a 2020 World Bank report, this generates annual social, environmental, and economic costs of more than $330 billion in Africa, while the investment required by the private sector to deliver access to modern alternatives would be only $2.6 billion. Solutions that rely on LPG, ethanol, electricity, biogas, and processed biomass fuels, as well as more efficient biomass stoves, are being commercialized with technology–integrated business models and are enabling underserved consumers to adopt modern energy.

About Spark+ Africa Fund: Spark+ is the first impact investment fund launched by Spark+ General Partner (“GP”), a joint venture between its Switzerland–based investment advisor EQ, and Netherlands–based foundation SMC. Switzerland–based Woodman Asset Management acts as the Fund’s Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). The Fund’s investors include leading development finance institutions, pension funds, family offices, and foundations. The Fund has a target size of $70 million. The US–based Clean Cooking Alliance (“CCA”), an initiative hosted by the United Nations Foundation, supported the development of Spark+.

About Enabling Qapital: EQ is an investment advisory company with strong ties in the impact investment sector and deep expertise in finance, with its founding partners unique skillsets and 100+ year proven track record. EQ is the exclusive advisor to the Enabling Microfinance Fund and has a global footprint of investment professionals across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America who originate, execute, and monitor investments. EQ is the exclusive investment advisor to Spark+ and a shareholder in the GP.

About Stichting Modern Cooking: SMC is a Netherlands–based foundation governed by a management board which consists of clean cooking sector experts and impact investment professionals. SMC is a shareholder in the GP and the Fund’s TA partner.

About BURN Manufacturing: BURN is the only vertically integrated modern cookstove company in Africa. Its solar–powered manufacturing facility in Nairobi currently has a capacity of over 50,000 stoves per month and employs over 600 people, 60% of whom are women. Since its founding in 2013, BURN’s products have delivered energy access to 7.5 million people across 14 countries in Africa.

About University of Michigan Law School’s International Transactions Clinic: The first of its kind in the United States at its launch in 2008, the ITC aims to be a training ground for highly qualified lawyers who graduate already experienced at representing their clients’ interests in an increasingly globalized and complex world. The BURN transaction team included Teddy Ulin, Yuzhen Zhang, and Saika Suzuki, and was supervised by ITC director David Guenther and Carl Valenstein, a Boston–based Partner in the corporate and business transactions practice at Morgan Lewis Bockius.

26 May 2022: The government of Ghana has signed a grant agreement with the African Development Fund, and a financing agreement with the government of Switzerland, for the Ghana Mini Grid and Solar Photovoltaic Net Metering project. The project will benefit schools, health centres and communities across the country.

The agreements, for the development of 35 mini-grids and stand-alone solar PV systems, were signed on Wednesday 25 May at a short ceremony held on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings. They were signed by Ghanaian Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, chairman of the board of governors of the African Development Bank Group, Ambassador Dominique Paravicini, the African Development Bank Group’s governor for Switzerland and Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, president of the African Development Bank.

The post Covid-19 era has highlighted the importance of reliable energy services. The project will support Ghana’s Covid-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (Ghana CARES) program, which identifies the energy sector as an enabler of economic transformation.

Minister Ofori-Atta said the agreement demonstrated his government’s commitment to enhance the economic and social viability of low carbon investments and achieving energy efficiency. Ghana’s electricity access rate is currently at 87.13% the minister revealed. The last mile was often the most expensive and difficult, he noted.

Today’s event not only marks the first stage but marks an important milestone for providing climate conscious development across the country,” Ofori-Atta said. “It is truly important and significant for us as we move toward net zero.”

Ambassador Paravicini said: “We are pleased to have reached another milestone in our cooperation with this wonderful country. We hope that, together, this project will bring sustainable and affordable electricity to over 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and almost 5,000 households, besides 1,100 public buildings.”

Dr. Adesina said: “The Bank supports Ghana’s efforts in building resilience to the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing electricity to health care centers, schools and island communities, currently without access to electricity services, thus enabling refrigeration of vaccines and testing facilities in these communities “.

The government of Switzerland financing will specifically support the scale up of the existing Ghana net metering program and deploy up to 12,000 units of roof-mounted net-metered solar PV systems for Small and medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) and households. Solar cells, also called photovoltaic (PV) cells, convert sunlight directly into electricity.

The systems will power 750 small medium-sized enterprises, 400 schools, 200 health centers and the energy service systems in 100 communities in the Volta Lake region and Northern region of Ghana. The Ghana Mini Grid and Solar Photovoltaic Net Metering project is expected to have an annual electricity output of renewable energy estimated at 111,361MWh, corresponding to an installed capacity of 67.5MW. The project will mitigate greenhouse emissions of 0.7795 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year and create up to 2,865 jobs during construction, of which 30% will target women and youth

The overall project cost is estimated at $85.88 million comprising the mini grid component – $40.29million, and a $44.89 million net metering component. It will be financed through $27.39 million from the African Development Fund; Ghana government counterpart funding of $16million; and $14 million from the Swiss government. In addition, the African Development Bank Group as an implementing entity of the Climate Investment Funds, leveraged concessional financing of $28.49 million.

The African Development Bank Group’s annual meetings are taking place in Accra, Ghana, under the theme: Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa.

18 May 2022: Power Africa, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and in partnership with the Smart Communities Coalition (SCC), announces it has awarded two grants totaling $840,000 to off-grid energy companies to install solar mini-grids and deliver 1,300 new electricity connections to homes and businesses in western Uganda’s Rwamwanja refugee settlement. Beyond supplying more reliable and affordable electricity to households and businesses, the grantees will also promote productive use of energy (PUE) technology. PUE equipment — such as cold storage, grain mills, welding machines, and computers — will take advantage of the mini-grids’ generation capacity, stimulate electricity demand, and allow residents to establish or expand micro-enterprises to generate greater income.

The global population of forcibly displaced people passed the 80 million threshold in 2020 for the first time. Of those who went on to live in refugee settlements, approximately ten percent had access to electricity. Today, many refugees cannot obtain basic electric lighting or cooking, relying instead on kerosene or walking long distances to find fuel.

In Uganda, which hosts the greatest number of refugees in Africa, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) identified that 89 percent of refugee households were in need of electricity. Limited energy access often means that refugee settlements are denied economic opportunity. Introducing electric lighting solves part of this problem: Light from a solar home system allows learners to study after dark, improves safety, and saves the user effort and money. However, modern off-grid technology can go further to promote economic development.

The two grants aim to meet displaced people’s demand for higher tiers of energy access by developing mini-grids and demonstrating to residents how to turn PUE into a business. Previous initiatives by USAID Power Africa, the SCC and Chatham House to supply energy to refugees demonstrate the potential for demand stimulation and show that increased generation capacity and more advanced PUE require larger, longer-term investments. To develop new business models to meet refugees’ need for energy and PUE — improving economic outcomes for individuals and mini-grid operators — Power Africa funds will be used to install three mini-grids in Rwamwanja, where the grantees will promote PUE to make the most of the energy supplied. The Rwamwanja settlement is home to 70,000 mostly Congolese refugees.

Power Africa assessed each of the grantees’ applications according to their economic benefit, particularly for women; operations and maintenance plans covering at least five years; and social utility (such as the number of public services electrified). Power Africa also selected the grantees using technical guidance provided by officials with Uganda’s Rural Electrification Program, overseen by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

With its grant funding, Aptech Africa will install two mini-grids to supply uninterrupted electricity to households and businesses in Ntenungi village and Kyempango village in Rwamwanja. Aptech will also establish two farmers’ enterprise centers that will provide cooperative cold storage facilities and offer training on post-harvest processing and how to market produce. The company will provide a wide range of PUE equipment such as water pumps, information technology, and sewing, carpentry, and hairdressing tools through established and new entrepreneurs. Aptech sized its mini-grids to allow the households and businesses to scale their energy use as the settlement’s energy demand grows. The company will charge customers a tariff covering operation and maintenance costs and ensure continuous power supply from the system.

Winch Energy will develop a 120 kWp mini-grid in Kyempango village’s central market in Rwamwanja. With this mini-grid, Winch Energy will introduce a source of electricity that is more affordable and reliable than the options available to the locality. After visiting this site, Winch identified households and businesses clustered around a trading center that will offer residents the most benefit when electrified. These benefits include more extensive lighting and longer business hours. Winch Energy will partner with Mobile Power to offer battery bank rentals for those outside the immediate reach of the mini-grid, and will also implement a program to stimulate demand for PUE. To do so, the company will supply, market, and finance PUE equipment (prioritizing women-owned enterprises) and train residents in financial literacy.

With these grants, Power Africa is delivering needed household electricity while also introducing larger generation capacity and more advanced forms of PUE to benefit refugee communities, in alignment with objectives of the SCC. By extending cleaner, more reliable energy across the continent, Power Africa and the SCC are prioritizing those who live beyond the reach of national power grids, including vulnerable refugees. The grants aim to further demonstrate that mini-grids and PUE are viable in displacement settings while raising residents’ quality of life and increasing opportunities for economic activity.

18 May 2022: Climate and impact fund manager Camco Clean Energy has partnered with Energy Peace Partners (EPP) to manage the Peace Renewable Energy Credit (P-REC) Aggregation Fund to expand renewable energy investment in fragile states in Sub-Saharan Africa.

P-RECs are international renewable energy certificates (I-RECs) with a supplementary label from Energy Peace Partners as the issuer certifying the co-benefits associated with the new renewable energy generation in countries that are fragile, climate vulnerable and energy poor. Since 2020, P-REC transactions have unlocked a new stream of private sector capital to support emerging renewable energy projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Sudan.

Trading in P-RECs, the Fund is designed to unlock up front funding for high impact renewable energy projects in countries where political and economic uncertainty is constraining investment and deployment of renewable energy infrastructure, and where lack of access to electricity is hindering sustainable development.

With each credit representing one megawatt hour of renewable energy, the P-RECs monetise the environmental and social attributes of renewable energy generated in fragile, energy-poor countries. The Fund offers renewable energy developers in fragile states – where access to affordable finance remains a key challenge – a portion of construction capital upfront, helping new projects come online by de-risking them and catalysing financing from other sources.

Today’s announcement coincides with this week’s Sustainable Energy for All Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, which aims to accelerate progress towards the delivery of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) to end energy poverty and advance a just energy transition in every corner of the world.

The Fund is designed to directly support SDG7, as well as SDG13 (climate action) and SDG16 (peace, justice and strong institutions); its USD 10.25m pilot phase – being raised as a mix of first-loss grants and concessional capital – is projected to unlock USD 90m in additional financing and support the deployment of 57MW of new renewable energy capacity, providing energy access to 325,000 households as well as creating 10,000 jobs and avoiding 650,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Fund is initially targeting countries with high impact potential including DRC, South Sudan, Chad, Somalia and Uganda. In the future, as the P-REC market matures, the Fund will be expanded to include commercial capital and draw in other financing facilities, providing even more financial support to developers and expanding energy access in the regions where it is needed most.

Geoff Sinclair, Managing Director, Camco Clean Energy, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Energy Peace Partners as the manager of the P-REC Aggregation Fund. This has real potential to help raise standards of living in conflict-affected states, building a brighter future, today.

“EPP’s domain expertise combines well with Camco’s proven track record in trading environmental instruments and renewable energy finance in emerging markets, and I look forward to achieving real impact on this fund while building the market for Peace RECs.”

Sherwin Das, Managing Director, Energy Peace Partners, said: “The P-REC Aggregation Fund leverages an innovative financing instrument to increase the flow of finance for a growing portfolio of high impact renewable energy projects in fragile states in Sub-Saharan Africa. It will send vital market signals to crowd-in other funders and resources, providing peace positive investment that contributes to achieving global goals to mitigate climate change and end energy poverty.

“We are excited to be partnering with Camco as we operationalise the P-REC Aggregation Fund. Camco’s deep expertise in environmental markets and renewable energy finance in Africa’s emerging economies, along with its focus on transformational impact, aligns perfectly with EPP’s goals to extend the renewable energy revolution to some of the hardest-to-reach communities.”

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About Energy Peace Partners: Energy Peace Partners leverages climate finance solutions to support peace in places affected by violent conflict. We believe that a paradigm shift toward climate-sensitive development can deliver enduring benefits to the planet’s most vulnerable populations. The Energy Peace Partners team brings together expertise in international peacebuilding, renewable energy, and climate security. Our efforts create an enabling environment for introducing renewable energy that can serve as the building blocks for peace. For more information, visit: https://www.energypeacepartners.com/.

About Camco Clean Energy: Camco Clean Energy is a specialist climate and impact fund manager, leading the clean energy transition in emerging markets. We offer clean, secure investments, pairing the conscience of a development bank with the agility of a private company. Camco is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund and is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The company has offices in Accra, Auckland, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto. For more information, visit: https://camco.energy.

13 May 2022: InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has signed an agreement committing to provide US $15 million by way of convertible loan notes to Bboxx, a next generation utility ramping up the provision of clean, reliable, and affordable energy access to underserved communities in Africa.

To date, Bboxx has successfully delivered clean energy solutions for over 2.5 million people globally, with substantial operations in countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Togo, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This investment will enable Bboxx’s acceleration in existing and new markets across sub-Saharan Africa to provide clean energy solutions to millions of people in the region.

Bboxx’s systems run on its comprehensive management platform Bboxx Pulse®, enabling clean energy access to be scaled to places previously considered too expensive or difficult to reach via traditional grid infrastructure.

InfraCo Africa has a strong track record in the off-grid solar space, with mini-grid initiatives in Uganda, Sierra Leone and Kenya and the company also supports solar-powered irrigation in Senegal. This agreement with Bboxx marks the company’s first investment in the SHS space, in line with InfraCo Africa’s desire to broaden access to clean energy across rural areas and communities using alternative models.

With this transaction, Bboxx and InfraCo Africa are also aligned in their commitment to contribute to United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals: Affordable and Clean Energy for all (SDG 7), Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Climate Mitigation (SDG 13) through increasing access to clean and reliable energy.

Today’s announcement follows the investment of InfraCo Africa’s sister PIDG company, GuarantCo, which provided a KES 1.6bn (US$15 million) loan partial guarantee in support of Bboxx’s operations in Kenya.

Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and Co-Founder of Bboxx, said: “The global problem of insufficient energy access can only be solved sustainably through the provision of innovative financing solutions. We are therefore delighted to announce this transaction with InfraCo Africa, significantly aiding our mission to transform the lives of millions in the developing world and helping to reach the UN’s SDG7 – clean energy for all. We thank InfraCo Africa for their vote of confidence in our operations, joining us in the recognition that energy is the key to unlocking inclusive and sustainable economic development in these markets.”

Claire Jarratt, InfraCo Africa’s Chief Investment and Risk Officer, said: “Bboxx is clearly a well-established and exciting player in the clean energy sector, especially in the solar home systems’ space. Today’s investment by InfraCo Africa will further support Bboxx in its continued growth, supplying clean energy solutions for hundreds of thousands of customers across sub-Saharan Africa in the coming years. Our investment will also enable Bboxx to unlock further private sector finance, a key driver of the PIDG and InfraCo Africa mandate.”

12 May 2022: For the development of the Kenyan market, EcoPhi was selected as a participant in the RES program of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection within the framework of the Export Initiative Energy. Renewable energies play a very important role in the expansion of energy supply in rural regions worldwide – also in Kenya. They are a driver for sustainable economic development there. However, a particular challenge with remote plants is that they are prone to faults and frequently stand still. By digitizing the plants, they can be operated more sustainably and their service life increased. The first projects in Kenya have already been put into operation. 

Hundreds of millions of people still do not have access to reliable electricity and water supplies. Renewable energies play a very important role in the climate-friendly expansion of this supply in rural regions without grid connections. New off-grid and on-grid solar installations and solar pumping systems are coming online every day, but not all of them are operating properly. “Many of the systems installed today will not operate reliably within the first year,” says Sebastian Zenz, EcoPhi’s managing director. The systems are often located in remote regions far from major cities and in harsh environments. Good skilled workers are not sufficiently available in many regions. Getting to the plants is therefore time-consuming and expensive. It is no surprise, therefore, that some of the plants come to a standstill after only a short time.

Furthermore, especially in the case of widely distributed plants, the management of the systems poses great challenges for the operators and requires high capacities. Digital solutions can help to operate the plants more efficiently and sustainably.

The EcoPhi products – modular and versatile in use

Only if the plants are operated sustainably and also function properly they can contribute to climate protection and economic development. This is the goal pursued by the company EcoPhi. It offers remote monitoring and digitization solutions specifically for plants in rural regions and harsh environments. EcoPhi systems are characterized by the fact that they are robust and easy to install.

Installers, operators and end customers can thus keep an eye on the plants at all times and intervene quickly in the event of problems or even carry out remote maintenance without having to travel long distances. This saves time and money and ensures that the plants are in operation for longer in the end.

A special feature of the EcoPhi systems is also their modularity and flexible applicability. Thus, the systems can already be used economically in small solar home systems – but also in large and complex installations such as minigrids or C&I projects.

Kenya as an interesting market and hub for the entire East Africa region

This flexibility is also evident in one of the company’s current projects in Kenya. Together with the Kenyan company Lean Energy Solutions, EcoPhi is monitoring sustainable biomass heating systems used in various industrial processes in Nairobi. Three new systems were commissioned here in March 2022.

“Kenya is strategically a very interesting market for EcoPhi. Both the on-grid market and the off-grid market are developing very quickly and dynamically,” says Zenz. In the short term, the country serves primarily as a sales market for EcoPhi products. In the long term, Kenya can establish itself as a hub for activities on the continent and especially in East Africa.

In April 2022, EcoPhi was awarded the ‘Solar Company of the Year: Monitoring Solutions’ award at the 2022 KENYA SOLAR WEEK LEADERSHIP AWARDS.

By participating in the program, EcoPhi aims to establish itself even further on the Kenyan market and expand its local activities. In doing so, the company is relying heavily on cooperation with Kenyan partners and companies in the fields of solar energy, water supply and agriculture. As part of the market development, the company will conduct sales and product training to strengthen local partners. In May, EcoPhi will showcase its products and services at the Solar Africa Expo.

The RES project Kenya is funded under the Renewable Energy Solutions Program of the Export Initiative Energy of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.

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About German Energy Agency (dena): dena is the centre of expertise for energy efficiency, renewable energy sources and intelligent energy systems. As the Agency for Applied Energy Transition we contribute to the attainment of energy and climate policy objectives. We develop solutions and put them into practice, both nationally and internationally. In order to achieve this, we bring together partners from politics and industry across all sectors – with an enthusiasm for one of the most exciting challenges of our time. dena’s shareholders are the Federal Republic of Germany and the KfW Group. For more information, visit: www.dena.de/en.

About German Energy Solutions Initiative: The transfer of energy expertise, the promotion of foreign trade and the facilitation of international development cooperation are part of the German Energy Solutions Initiative, which is coordinated and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. The initiative offers networking and business opportunities in Germany and abroad, it showcases reference projects and facilitates capacity building. For more information, visit: www.german-energy-solutions.de.

About Renewable Energy Solutions Programme (RES Programme): With the RES Programme, the Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency – helps German renewable energy companies enter new markets. The installation of climate-friendly energy technology projects in attractive target markets is accompanied by comprehensive information dissemination, marketing and training programmes. These flagship projects, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action within the German Energy Solutions Initiative, aim to showcase high-quality German renewable energy technology and help participating companies gain a foothold in new markets. For more information, visit: http://www.german-energy-solutions.de/en/res.

9 May 2022: More than one million people in Sub-Saharan Africa have been connected to electricity for the first time through the UK-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), managed by Camco Clean Energy.

According to figures released in its latest quarterly impact report today, REPP has provided clean energy access to approx. 1,083,000 people through its diverse portfolio of solar mini-grids, solar home systems and isolated grid projects (metro grids).

The new connections are providing far-reaching health and socio-economic benefits to rural communities and businesses, as well as directly supporting individual countries’ national climate action targets set out in their Nationally Determined Contributions.

Up until REPP’s intervention, most of the newly connected households had to either typically rely on kerosene, candles and diesel for their energy needs or go without. With access to a clean, reliable and more affordable energy supply, they are now able to enjoy improved air quality while benefiting from increased educational and income-generating opportunities through round-the-clock lighting and the productive use of energy (PUE) activities.

Ben Hugues, Investment Director and REPP Lead at Camco Clean Energy, said: “Passing one million connections is a huge achievement for REPP and reflects all the hard work and determination of the Camco team, REPP’s board and investment committee and, of course, the developers themselves.

“But we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that around half of Africa’s population – with some 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa alone – still do not have access to electricity. REPP has been instrumental in developing a thriving and dependable market for the region’s small-scale and decentralised renewable energy sector. Now we just need to scale it up by 600 times.”

REPP was set up in 2015 to stimulate the growth of Sub-Saharan Africa’s small scale and distributed renewable energy market through investing in a mix of off- and on-grid projects that would have either never been realised or which would have faced extensive delays. In addition to the new connections, REPP’s portfolio of on-grid projects has improved the stability of the national grid supply for a further 97,000 people.

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About REPP: The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), managed by Camco Clean Energy, works to mobilise private sector development activity – and investment – in small to medium-sized projects (typically up to 25MW) in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is supported with funding from the UK’s International Climate Finance through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and, to date, has agreed contracts with 37 renewable energy projects across 18 countries, employing seven different technologies, from SHS and PV mini-grids to onshore wind and run-of-river hydro. For more information, visit: https://repp.energy.

About Camco Clean Energy: Camco Clean Energy is a specialist climate and impact fund manager, leading the clean energy transition in emerging markets. We offer clean, secure investments, pairing the conscience of a development bank with the agility of a private company. Camco is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund and is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The company has offices in Accra, Auckland, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, Singapore, Sydney and Toronto. For more information, visit: https://camco.energy.

6 May 2022: Starsight Energy (Starsight), a Nigeria-based, Africa-focused solar energy provider, announced the conclusion of a competitive local currency agreement with Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF), for a 10-year, NGN8 billion refinancing of US$20 million of current debt with two development finance institutions (DFIs) invested in the energy sector in Africa.

The new facility – Starsight’s second with NIDF – replaces Starsight’s current facilities with Norfund (the Norwegian Government Investment Fund for Developing Countries) and Finnfund (the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd).

Paul van Zijl, Starsight’s Group Chief Financial Officer, explains: “The DFI facilities were secured when we were a much smaller company when most funders did not show substantial interest in Starsight. Norfund and Finnfund were invaluable funders to the company in its early guise and we remain very grateful for their support to date. The logic for refinancing the US dollar debt in local currency was just too compelling to ignore”.

The increased difficulty in sourcing US dollars in Nigeria, together with the devaluation of the Nigerian Naira in the parallel market over the past five years, has made US dollar debt increasingly expensive, van Zijl adds.

Starsight’s objectives in securing the Nigerian refinancing have been met successfully:

• removal of currency mismatch and associated foreign exchange (FX) volatility from its Nigerian business;
• reduction of its cost of debt in local currency terms; and
• an increase in its debt tenor with favourable debt covenants.

The Nigerian refinancing, negotiated in just two months amid substantial interest from Nigerian debt-funders, “keeps things local”, says van Zijl, supporting Nigerian green energy players and the country’s economy. The refinancing was made possible through close collaboration by the Starsight and NIDF teams with the necessary flexibility to ensure closing on the targeted date.

van Zijl adds: “As we continue to expand in Africa, we closely monitor the local economic situation and currency trends, ensuring our capital structure and FX exposure is optimal for that specific market.”

“The Nigerian economy has some similarities to that of South Africa – local currency income and local currency expenses necessitate local currency debt.”

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About Starsight Energy: Starsight is an unlisted provider of solar energy to governments, utilities and businesses in Africa. Starsight is backed by Helios Investment Partners, which manages geographically diversified portfolios of private equity and credit investments in more than 30 African countries; and African Infrastructure and Investment Managers (AIIM), a member of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, which manages investments in East, West and Southern Africa, with US$2.4 billion equity under management and a track record across seven African infrastructure funds.

Technology-driven Starsight offers the provision of clean, green energy, end-to-end services – from planning to construction, to operational management, wind-down and re-deployment – with no upfront capital investment to investors, plus significant energy savings. For more information, visit: www.starsightenergy.com.

About Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund: Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund is Nigeria’s largest and Africa’s first-ever listed infrastructure fund, providing long-term, Naira-denominated financing for infrastructure projects in Nigeria. NIDF enables project sponsors to avoid the unsustainable mismatches of currency and tenor between their financing and their revenues/cash flows.

NIDF’s investor base includes the African Development Bank (AfDB), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and nearly all the pension funds operating in Nigeria. For more information, visit: www.chapelhilldenham.com.

6 May 2022: The first and largest manufacturer of syringes in the Middle East, the family-owned Arab Medical Equipment Company (AMECO), has signed agreement to receive 2.5 MW of solar power from the roof of its manufacturing plants in Ramadan City, Cairo. The contract is signed with the Norwegian renewable investment company – Empower New Energy and the Egyptian company - Gree Solar. This week marked the start of construction of the first 0,5 MW phase of this large rooftop solar plant which is Empower’s fifth investment in Egypt.

The Government of Egypt has committed to increase the share of renewables in the country’s electricity mix from 20 % in 2020, to 42 % in 2030. As a result of this 25-year contract AMECO, who have implemented European standards for design and manufacturing of medical equipment, will contribute to this goal by producing 4,4 GWh solar power yearly, equal to saving an estimated 2,125 thousand tons of CO2 annually.

Hisham El Fata Chairman of AMECO says” offering rapid deployment of clean energy with no up-front cost to the customer is a value proposition that resonates greatly with Egyptian energy buyers and as a company, saves us electricity costs and enables sustainable operations with use of clean energy.

Terje Osmundsen CEO of Empower “this an important step closer to realizing our ambition to be one of the foremost independent solar power providers in the C&I industry in Africa”.

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About Empower New Energy: Empower New Energy is an award – winning impact investor in African renewable energy with proven business and operating mode. The Company serves C&I clients and communities by mobilizing international capital and operating assets effectively. For more information, visit: https://www.empowernewenergy.com.

About AMECO: AMECO is the first and largest single-use syringe manufacturer in the Middle East. In addition to disposable syringes, AMECO produces hypodermic needles and IV and transfusion sets. For more information, visit: http://www.amecoegypt.com.

About Gree Solar: Gree Solar is a leading solar PV developer that specialises in developing rooftop and ground mounted solar PV for businesses in Egypt. For more information, visit: https://www.greesolar.com.eg.

5 May 2022: As the world talks about the energy transition, South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), through its IPP Office has recently announced the REIPPPP BW6 Request for Proposals (RFP).  This bid round will add 2,600 MWs of new capacity to the energy mix, the second to be released in line with the Ministerial Determination, promulgated on 25th September 2020, which seeks to procure 11,813 MW of power from various sources including renewable energy, storage, gas and coal.

BW6 follows on from the announcement of preferred bidders under the REIPPPP BW5 which are currently in the process of preparing for financial close later this year. The Timeline for the REIPPPP BW6 process is as follows:

•  2 June 2022 – BW6 virtual Bidders’ Conference
• 14 July 2022 – Last date for compulsory Bid Registration for BW6
• 11 August 2022 – RFP Bid Submission Scheduled for BW6

For any further IPP Procurement Programme updates please go to the South African IPP Office website at www.ipp-projects.co.za.

At the Africa Energy Forum (aef22) next month, the IPP Office will host a workshop focusing on investor-centric requirements of BW6, as well as participating in a number of deep dive sessions focused specifically on procurement programmes regionally.  Additionally, supporters of the programme will be invited to a networking function to further enable deeper sharing of insights to better equip investors as they prepare for the August submission deadline.

“The IPP Office is an example of how to increase clean energy adoption across the continent. It stands out as a world leading programme for investor engagement and the advancement of renewable projects and we’re delighted that the Office, under the leadership of the Mr. Tshifhiwa Bernard Magoro, will join us at aef22 to further enable investors to have every opportunity to understand the requirements of BW6.” Shiddika Mohamed, Group Director, EnergyNet.

Join the IPP Office and over 2000 attendees, 300+ expert speakers, 100+ leading sponsors & exhibitors, over 4 days, at this year’s 24th annual Africa Energy Forum on 21-24 June at Tour & Taxis in Brussels, as we return to our full scale event, catering for all your business development needs. Special rates available when you register by Friday 20th May.