24 February 2023: Economies of scale and speed of deployment have been two major hurdles for the minigrid industry. Today, Husk Power announced new benchmarks that erased both barriers: it became the first company to own and operate more than 200 community solar minigrids in Asia and Africa. And it also averaged a rollout of 16 minigrids per month.

The two achievements follow closely on Husk’s announcement in January 2023 of being the first minigrid company to achieve corporate profitability.

Taken together, the trifecta of industry milestones – a profitable business model, a large portfolio of assets, and the ability to deploy minigrids in previously unseen numbers – are proof that the minigrid industry is scaling, with Husk Power, which pioneered the industry 15 years ago, showing the path forward.

Today, at an event in India’s Uttar Pradesh state attended by government leaders, business partners and Husk executives, 16 new minigrids – all of which were built within a one month period – were inaugurated, taking Husk’s portfolio over the 200 mark.

Husk expects to double again its portfolio to 400 minigrids by the end of 2023. At the same time, Husk’s excellence and know-how in project deployment is being transferred to its operations in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, where the company already has 12 sites in operation, with plans for up to 100 by 2023 and 500 by 2026.

Referring to today’s announcement, Manoj Sinha, Husk’s Co-Founder and CEO, said: “These latest milestones confirm our confidence – for Husk and for the industry as a whole – in scaling community solar minigrids and making a major contribution to achieving universal electrification in Asia and Africa. It took Husk four years to grow 10X and reach 200 minigrids, and we are now able to double our portfolio to 400 in just one year and begin our next 10X journey.”

In 2022, Husk became the first and only minigrid company to sign a UN Energy Compact, which included a commitment to building 5,000 minigrids by 2030 and displacing 700 million gallons of fuel for diesel generators, which currently dominate economies in Asia and Africa.

According to a Minigrid Industry Roadmap released in 2022, rate of deployment “may be the most daunting challenge” for the industry, noting that 10 companies with 10 times the current maximum rate of deployment are needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to modern, affordable, clean, reliable energy for all.

Husk’s speed of deployment is the result of achieving efficiencies across multiple aspects of its business: site scoring and selection, land leasing and permitting, supply chain management, logistics and warehousing, construction and digital automation.

Since 2019, Husk has raised $40 million ($25 million in equity and $15 million in low-cost, long-term debt) and grew 10X despite being hit by Covid and other global market disruptions, demonstrating efficient deployment of capital and business resiliency.

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About Husk Power Systems: Founded in 2008, Husk Power Systems is the leading net-zero energy services company in rural Asia and Africa, and operator of the largest fleet of community solar microgrids. Its smart and sustainable solutions 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.

23 February 2023: The Universal Energy Facility (UEF) – a results-based financing facility managed by Sustainable Energy for All – has announced that it will provide grants to renewable energy companies who applied to have their projects financed as part of the facility’s Stand-alone Solar for Productive Use programme in Nigeria.

These companies will now begin construction on their proposed solar projects, all of which are designed to connect businesses and services to a clean, affordable and reliable electricity source.

These projects will span most states in Nigeria and be completed within the next 12 months. Together, they will connect approximately 3,500 businesses, markets, shopping malls, cold-storage facilities, clinics, schools, and other productive uses of energy, which are uses that support economic activity and community infrastructure.

As stand-alone solar energy projects, they will alleviate the need for businesses and services to rely on expensive, polluting fossil fuel generators as their source of power. The UEF estimates that approximately 5,400 tons of CO2 equivalent per year will be saved once all of the proposed projects are implemented.

“With this programme in Nigeria, the Universal Energy Facility will demonstrate the enabling power that sustainable energy can have on local economic development and climate action,” said Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All “Solar projects supported by the facility will give businesses clean and affordable electricity to help them scale up, create jobs, and replace polluting power sources.”

Last year, the Government of Nigeria launched its Energy Transition Plan showing how the country will achieve universal energy access by 2030 and net-zero emissions by mid-century, as well as the finance required to meet these goals. The UEF is contributing to the plan’s finance targets for the power sector by providing grants that companies can leverage to attract additional finance for clean energy.

“The Universal Energy Facility will provide grant payments to enable solar companies to expand their operations to small and medium-sized enterprises across Nigeria, while crowding-in additional private capital,” said Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Projects supported by the Universal Energy Facility will help grow businesses and create jobs, making them key contributors to our Energy Transition Plan.”

Hon. Goddy Jedy Agba, Minister of State for Power of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, said “This Universal Energy Facility programme is a practical demonstration of targeted investment in our power sector and in our overall objective to provide energy access to all of the Nigerian people.”

The Stand-alone Solar for Productive Use programme in Nigeria opened for applications in August 2022 and received expressions of interest from hundreds of energy developers.

“Within just a few months of opening this programme in Nigeria, we are now at the point where grantees have been selected and companies can start building transformative stand-alone solar projects,” said Anita Otubu, Senior Director, Universal Energy Facility. “The Universal Energy Facility is proving the effectiveness of results-based finance to catalyse energy development at speed and scale.”

Simon Harford, CEO, Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, said, ““The global energy transition must power both people and planet, enabling economic opportunities and displacing carbon-intensive technologies. The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is proud to support the Universal Energy Facility’s efforts to offer targeted, country-specific solutions in those communities most affected by energy poverty and climate change. The UEF has the potential to become a unifying force and the platform of choice for those interested in results-based financing.”

This is the first grant funding window under the Stand-alone Solar for Productive Use programme in Nigeria. The UEF has identified many additional viable projects for financing in future waves.

More information on the Stand-Alone Solar for Productive Use programme and the UEF are available here.

22 February 2023: A presidential roundtable on the side-lines of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union has called for the acceleration of financing for energy access in Africa with clear targets and steps for ensuring the achievement of universal energy access by 2030.

The event which was organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Bank in collaboration with the Union of the Comoros was attended by the Presidents of Comoros and the Republic of Madagascar and ministers of the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Malawi, high-level representatives of the African Development Bank, the World Bank, international and regional institutions, and development partners. It took place on 18th February 2023.

In his keynote address, the President of the Union of the Comoros and the Chairperson of the African Union for 2023, H.E. Azali Assoumani shed light on the irony of energy poverty on a continent that is richly endowed with vast energy resources that remain untapped. President Assoumani also highlighted the energy situation in most African island nations and noted that continental approaches can complement national initiatives to boost energy access. Using the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) as an example, and Comoros as the beneficiary of a USD 9 million GRMF grant, H.E. Assoumani demonstrated how continental initiatives can augment Member States’ efforts. “Accelerating the implementation of Agenda 2063 flagship projects such as the Grand Inga Dam Hydro project, and the energy projects under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) is critical in enhancing energy access, regional integration, fostering economic transformation, and climate resilience”, underscored the President.

The African Single Electricity Market (AfSEM) was noted to be a key strategic element of facilitating energy access and enhancing energy security in Africa and, therefore, the AU Member States, regional economic communities and their specialised institutions were urged to play their part in facilitating its operationalisation.

President of the Republic of Madagascar H.E. Andry Rajoelina, who also chaired the high-level panel discussion emphasised the need to invest in clean sources to fast-track universal energy access in Africa underlining that energy is every African leader’s priority. “Addressing Energy Access is not negotiable for any leader, and we need now to move from words to action,” said, President Rajoelina, adding that Madagascar aspires to achieve 100% energy access in the shortest possible time mainly by harnessing renewables.

On behalf of AUC Chairperson H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, H.E. Dr Monique Nsanzabaganwa, warmly welcomed and commended the presence of the dignitaries which, according to the Deputy Chairperson, is a clear demonstration of the importance they attach to energy access and security in Africa.

In her opening remarks H.E. Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy accentuated that energy is a bedrock for the success of every development sector and thus increased effort is required in ensuring affordable and reliable access. Dr Amani stated that “Africa’s key priorities and initiatives including industrialisation, AfCFTA, agricultural development, food security, poverty alleviation, job creation and regional integration, as well as the achievement of the SDGs, are all dependent on modern and universal energy access and services.”

Africa needs 25 billion USD in investment annually to meet its energy targets. The deliberations in the high-level panel underscored the role of partnerships in the area of finance, knowledge and technology transfer to help speed up existing and new initiatives to overcome constraints that African countries face in their quest for energy development.

Speaking on behalf of the World Bank, Ms Victoria Kwakwa and Mr Ousmane Diagana, respective Vice-Presidents for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Western and Central Africa, emphasized the World Bank’s commitment to partnering on this agenda. “The World Bank remains committed to helping countries strengthen their institutional and regulatory frameworks and develop strong utilities – both of which are essential to a thriving power sector,” said Kwakwa and Diagana.

In her concluding remarks, Commissioner Abou-Zeid assured the gathering that the AUC remains committed and ready to implement the recommendations made during the deliberations. “The various programmes that the Commission is already coordinating will be accelerated and aligned with the priority of achieving universal energy access by 2030,” reiterated the Commissioner.

16 February 2023: Merrin Investors is happy to announce the completion of an investment round led by the company to support Ignite Power‘s growth and expansion throughout Africa and provide millions with sustainable, advanced solutions to their everyday needs.

In addition to the investment, Seth Merrin will join Ignite Power’s board of directors alongside Peter Feinberg, former head of Oppenheimer’s Equity Trading. The addition of Merrin and Feinberg to the board will bring a wealth of expertise, strategic insight, and experience in driving impact and promoting sustainability to the company as it continues to grow and expand its impact throughout Africa.

“We are happy to expand our support in Ignite Power, as it continues to grow and make a difference in the world,” says Merrin. “Investing in Ignite means supporting a company that is not only revolutionizing the distributed infrastructure sector but also making a significant impact at scale. With its proven models of operations, Ignite is showing the world that it is possible to create positive change on a large scale while still being financially successful.”

Today, more than 700 million people are still living without access to electricity; According to a report from 2022 by the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, Off-Grid Solar is estimated to be the most cost-effective, feasible solution to electrify more than half of the currently unconnected households. The sector is expected to set record-breaking investments in the coming years, as it recorded a 10% increase in sales in 2021, indicating a nascent recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ignite Power is a pan-African provider of solar-based, distributed infra-tech solutions, such as solar home systems, solar pumps, clean cooking solutions, and more. To date, the company has already directly empowered 2 million people in 5 countries through clean home electricity, created 3,500 jobs, and saved more than 250,000 tonnes of GHG emissions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Seth and Peter to our board,” said Yariv Cohen, CEO of Ignite Power. “Their unique, strategic perspective and unparalleled experience will be invaluable as we work to bring our distributed infra-tech solutions to even more people and communities in need. Their passion for sustainability and commitment to creating a better world will be a driving force as we work to create impact at a different scale”.

With advanced, proven technologies and the most capital-efficient operational model in the sector, Ignite Power is expanding its footprint across the SSA region while growing its product offerings to create a positive impact at scale. The current investment round will support the company’s plans to empower 100 million people in the next few years through organic growth and strategic acquisitions.

“This investment round, especially in today’s market, strengthens our belief that Africa’s infrastructure sector presents the best opportunity for a successful capital investment and impact,” says Cohen. “Working to create impact at a pan-African scale requires the best people possible in every position, and we are honored to have such world-leading supporters on our side and to keep paving the way to a cleaner, more inclusive future.”

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About Ignite Power: Ignite Power connects last-mile, hardest-to-reach communities across Sub- Saharan Africa to clean, sustainable, and affordable solar solutions. The company’s mission is to alleviate extreme poverty in bottom-of-the-pyramid societies through solar power, technology, and inclusive financing schemes.

About Seth Merrin: A renowned entrepreneur, business leader, philanthropist, and author, Seth Merrin has spent his entire career reinventing how global financial markets work by implementing advanced technology solutions to drive efficiencies and eliminate barriers for investors. Seth was the Founder and Executive Chairman of Liquidnet, a global institutional trading and investing network connecting more than 1,000 of the world’s top asset management firms across 45 financial markets and six continents. Seth orchestrated Liquidnet’s expansion into AI-based investment decision support, focusing on delivering actionable market intelligence and insight to fund managers worldwide. In 2007, Seth and his late wife Anne Heyman founded the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV), a home, community, and high school for hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children in Rwanda.

About Merrin Investors: Merrin Investors LLC is a family investment office focused on investing in companies that disrupt industries with the use of technology. Managed by Seth Merrin, on behalf of his family, he strives to make a positive impact on the world through impact investing, strategic partnerships, and innovation.

2 February 2023: Today, RMI, founded as Rocky Mountain Institute, collaborated with Nigerian-based private minigrid developers Nayo Tropical Technology Ltd. and Prado Power Ltd. to announce the rollout of the first cohort of Sharing the Power’s community-centric minigrid projects. The objective is to prove that community-centered interventions in minigrid development can improve system performance while increasing socioeconomic development and empowering minigrid communities.

The proposed projects will achieve this win-win scenario by developing and implementing measures that will increase the community’s ownership and develop inclusive governance allowing for the equitable distribution of benefits among community members. In addition, RMI will integrate these projects into Nigeria’s existing minigrid programs to support ongoing national electrification efforts.

“Nayo Tropical Technologies believes Sharing the Power community-centric minigrids project collaboration with RMI will open an innovative and scalable ownership model, capable of catalyzing minigrid deployment across Africa,” said Okenwa Anayo Nas, CEO, Nayo Tropical Technology.

In Nigeria, minigrids have emerged as a cost-effective option for reliable electricity, creating exciting opportunities to increase the pace of electricity access. However, estimates from the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) show almost 90 million people in Nigeria do not have access to grid electricity. Consequently, the country’s Energy Transition Plan is poised to advance the energy access agenda and seeks to add 30,000 MW of newly installed capacity by 2030, from at least 30% of renewable energy. This includes minigrids — self-contained energy generation and distribution systems — which usually operate at the community scale.

“We are pleased and excited about these minigrids projects in Nigeria. Having communities drive these efforts — providing examples for other communities — is exactly the model that we envisioned when we partnered with RMI to help fund this work,” said Marieke Rodenhuis, Deputy Head of the Charity Department, Dutch Postcode Lottery. “We are very happy to be able to support this effort thanks to our lottery players.”

Through its community-centric approach, Sharing the Power is well-positioned to leverage the momentum of the national plan to drive innovation and change. Community participation during minigrid design and implementation as well as inclusion of community-perceived opportunities for economic growth and increased productivity are critical to improving system impact.

“We see the community-centric minigrid model as a decisive step toward empowering rural communities while ensuring that minigrids unlock long-term local economic development and resilience,” said Suleiman Babamanu, RMI Nigeria Program Director.

RMI has identified five key elements to guide the design of community-centric projects:

1. Community ownership and/or co-ownership
2. Governance structure
3. Sharing of benefits
4. Gender equity and social inclusion (GESI)
5. Structure to safeguard community investment

In addition, Africa’s inherent local leadership structures — including religious groups, local associations (e.g., agricultural), and cooperatives — can feed on the success of new projects or save stranded assets. These dynamics and underlying characteristics can ensure project success by generating community buy-in, thus increasing project sustainability.

“In the middle of all the activity across our operations — technical, administrative, commercial — we never lose sight of a core goal, which is to empower the communities we operate in, lift them out of poverty, engender a better quality of life,” said Washima Mede, CEO, Prado Power. “That is why we are excited to be part of RMI’s Sharing the Power initiative, where we strive to deploy an innovative approach that goes beyond mere energy access and provides additional benefits that can form the foundational blocks for sustainable communities (SDG11).”

Partnering communities of the first cohort include Mokoloki in Ogun State, Tungan Jika and Aninigi in Niger State, and Mbiabet Ikot Esieyere in Akwa Ibom State.

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About Nayo Tropical Technologies: Nayo Tropical Technology (NTT) has been at the forefront of renewable energy technology in Nigeria for the past two decades. NTT is a vertically integrated cleantech company with core activities in renewable energy, utilities, e-mobility, and renewable energy product development. With a portfolio of 10 operational minigrids providing energy to over 11,290 homes and businesses (about 55,000 people) across Nigeria, NTT has a robust pipeline of 23 new isolated, interconnected, and commercial and industrial solar projects planned for commissioning in 2023 to serve over 25,000 homes and businesses.

About The Dutch Postcode Lottery: The Dutch Postcode Lottery is a marketing-driven organization with a social purpose. Lottery players win prizes and support charities. Since 1989, more than €12 billion has been raised for charities and good causes, near and far, that help contribute to a fairer, greener, and healthier world. The Dutch Postcode Lottery is part of the Postcode Lottery Group, the third largest private charity donor in the world. For more information, visit: www.postcodelotterygroup.com.

About RMI: Founded as Rocky Mountain Institute, is an independent nonprofit founded in 1982 that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has staff in over 25 countries, including teams based in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, and offices in Beijing; Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit: www.rmi.org.

About Prado Power: Over the past six years, Prado Power has provided cutting-edge renewable energy solutions for commercial, industrial, residential customers across urban and rural areas in Nigeria. With over 2MW of solar PV deployments and a focus on the productive use of minigrids in rural communities in tandem with agriculture hubs, Prado Power has a vision to resolve the region’s energy deficit and significantly empower smallholders economically through agro/energy deployments in rural communities. In pursuit of this, Prado Power is in constant engagement with internal and external stakeholders, including regulatory agencies, fund managers, and technical partners to pull together resources to make this vision a visible reality.

1 February 2023: With support from the IKEA Foundation, CLASP is collaborating with Charm Impact to pilot a new financing facility for early-stage, locally owned, renewable energy companies on the African continent. The Supporting Early-Stage Local Entrepreneurs (SESLE) Program promotes inclusive finance by investing in local companies, which are often challenged to access the capital they need to grow their renewable energy businesses. SESLE de-risks loans for investors and helps borrowers hedge against volatile currency fluctuations.

Locally-owned companies are key drivers of the renewable energy transition. Despite their potential, financing to help them expand operations and reach more customers is critically insufficient, with investors often perceiving them as too risky. Funding overwhelmingly goes to foreign-owned companies. Often, the ticket size of available micro-financing is too small to be useful for entrepreneurs. At the same time, local commercial banks are unwilling to lend to startups or carry prohibitive collateral requirements and charge exceptionally high annual interest rates.

Charm Impact has developed a unique approach to tackling the financial exclusion of local entrepreneurs. Using its credit risk and impact assessment tool, Charm supports companies in establishing a commercial credit history. This enables entrepreneurs to scale their operations, prove their creditworthiness and access capital from later-stage investors. Adding to this effort, SESLE’s blended finance approach offers a pathway for increasing financial flows to these local companies.

“Blended finance is typically only looked at through the lens of supporting investors,” says Gavriel Landau, CEO and Founder of Charm Impact. “With SESLE, we have flipped this paradigm on its head and created an innovative instrument that caters to investors and entrepreneurs. One component of SESLE de-risks loans for investors by guaranteeing a portion of their investments. While the other supports entrepreneurs by absorbing some of their potential losses in the event of currency depreciation.”

Locally-owned energy access companies are desperately needed to create competition in the marketplace, reach underserved geographies and cater to last-mile customers to boost progress towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7. Without the commercial funding to enable these companies to grow, it will be impossible to achieve the SDG7 targets.

“Energy access for all is possible. SESLE can help accomplish this by offering an innovative new funding facility that creates an equitable investment ecosystem and supports locally owned companies that are fundamentally being left behind”, says Siena Hacker, a Senior Program Associate at CLASP.

SESLE has demonstrated early traction by already incentivizing investment in three locally owned companies across Rwanda, Nigeria and Kenya. After demonstrating the pilot’s success, SESLE will aim to expand its reach and ensure that local entrepreneurs across Africa can climb the credit ladder, illustrate the success of their customer-centric businesses and enhance the growth of the energy access industry.

Jeffrey Prins, Head of Portfolio, Renewable Energy at IKEA Foundation, says, “We have partnered with CLASP and Charm Impact to give locally owned, renewable energy companies on the African continent the means to scale their high-impact businesses. This will help boost the local renewable energy markets, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enable many families on the continent to access renewable energy products that would otherwise be unattainable.”

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About the IKEA Foundation: The IKEA Foundation is a strategic philanthropy that focuses its grant-making efforts on tackling the two biggest threats to children’s futures: poverty and climate change. It currently grants more than €200 million per year to help improve family incomes and quality of life while protecting the planet from climate change. Since 2009, the IKEA Foundation has granted more than €1.5 billion to create a better future for children and their families. In 2021 the Board of the IKEA Foundation decided to make an additional €1 billion available over the next five years to accelerate the reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions. For more information, visit: www.ikeafoundation.org.

About CLASP: CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and expand access to clean energy through appliance energy performance and quality.

About Charm Impact: Charm Impact’s mission is to combat the financial exclusion of clean energy entrepreneurs across Sub-Saharan Africa. Charm has provided 27 loans across Nigeria, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and India with a combined value of £2m, improving energy for more than 350,000 people. To date, Charm maintains no defaults across its portfolio and has had 11 loans fully repaid.

1 February 2023: Renewvia, a leading global solar energy microgrid developer, has partnered with Okapi Green Energy (Okapi) Ltd to launch a Joint Venture, OkRene Energy, to deliver clean and affordable electricity through a financially sustainable model to the community residing within the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya’s second-largest refugee camp.

Together, Renewvia and Okapi will design, finance, instal and operate a scalable, innovative solar minigrid system, expanding access to power from 200 people to up to 15,000 living within the Kakuma III section of the refugee camp. OkRene Energy will exclusively provide power to Kakuma III through a 20-year license.

Renewvia will bring to the joint venture the funding, experience and expertise that will ensure the successful delivery of service. Okapi will take responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the solar minigrid system as well as the training and skills development of local workers to support the grid and power generation.

The project is expected to take one year to complete. The initial phase will be to build the infrastructure and expand the grid that will serve 15,000 customers; the installed capacity will increase over time as demand grows.

The Kakuma Refugee Camp, established in 1992, is located in the north-western territory of Turkana County and is divided into four parts (Kakuma I-IV). The Kenyan Department of Refugee Services (DRS) manages the camp in conjunction with the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. There are over 19 nationalities living in the Kakuma refugee camp, with over 54% of the population originating from South Sudan. Households, micro and small businesses, schools and social institutions will benefit from the OkRene Energy minigrid development.

Okapi Green Energy Ltd was established in 2018 to help bring electrification to the refugee camp by resident Vasco Hamisi, a Congolese refugee who arrived in Kakuma in 2010. The company obtained the license to operate in the camp in 2021. The United States African Development Foundation, an independent United States government agency, partially funded the first phase connection of 200 clients, commissioned with Renewvia in late 2022.

Vasco Hamisi, Chief Executive, Okapi Green Ltd said, “The majority of our community, to date, has had to rely on expensive, unstable and unreliable sources of power. Our first phase saw us initiate the first step towards change, by connecting 1% of the 200,000 residents. Energy is one of the key engines for the economic growth of any society as it forms the basic blocks on which socio-economic development can be established. Providing access to energy for refugees is a critical enabler for basic and essential services. This next phase will be transformational”.

Commenting on the alliance, Trey Jarrard, CEO of Renewvia, said, “Working with a skilled and capable local partner in displaced communities exponentially increases chances of success for scalable power projects. Okapi Energy brings an ability to efficiently develop and operate a minigrid system, reliably connecting the community and supporting the economic needs of those living in displaced settings. Renewvia is enthusiastic about expanding the relationship with Okapi Energy and replicating the structure in other displaced settlements and camps”.

24 January 2023: Today, Husk Power Systems, which pioneered the first renewable energy minigrid in 2008 and now operates the largest fleet of community minigrids across Africa and Asia, announced that it has achieved profitability on both continents. Husk is the world’s first minigrid company to achieve this major industry milestone.

The company became EBITDA positive in Q4 2022 in its two primary markets, Nigeria and India. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) is a widely used measure of corporate profitability.

By achieving profitability, Husk has sent a clear signal to the market that rural minigrids are a fully bankable asset class, as well as an important contributor to net-zero growth for the more than 3 billion people – and countless small businesses and farmers – that are still without access to reliable electricity in rural Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

“When I took over the reins of Husk in 2014, we underestimated the amount of time and effort it would take to discover the right business model, right team and right technology platform to build a commercially viable minigrid company on two continents,” said Manoj Sinha, Co-Founder and CEO. “It took grit and innovation to arrive here – at a profitable and scalable minigrid company.”

In 2022, Husk launched its Nigeria Sunshot Initiative, with a target of building 500 minigrids by 2026 that benefit more than 2 million people, while also displacing 25,000 diesel and gasoline generators used by rural businesses and farmers. The company currently operates 12 off-grid minigrids in Nigeria, benefiting 50,000 people, and expects to expand 5X nationally by the end of 2023.

An active participant in the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), Husk is making a significant contribution to Nigeria’s energy transition goals and to reducing carbon emissions. The minigrids also power schools and health clinics, contributing to the broader Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda.

The profitability milestone was achieved because of two factors: 1) Husk’s unique platform approach, which addresses the entire rural energy ecosystem (besides electricity and appliance sales, it also installs rooftop solar for businesses, and offers energy-as-a-service for drinking water, agro-processing, etc.); and 2) its relentless focus on technology and business innovation, which has allowed Husk to boast the lowest cost of delivered energy and highest average revenue per user in the industry.

Husk pioneered the rural minigrid 15 years ago using waste biomass gasification, and in 2017 followed up with the industry’s first solar hybrid minigrid. Since then, the World Bank and International Energy Agency have both recognized the central role of solar minigrids in ending energy poverty by 2030. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 minigrids need to be built before the end of the decade.

“Husk has proven that the rural minigrid business model works, in Asia and in Africa, and in off-grid, under-the-grid, and grid-interconnected communities. It works and it is robust,” said Board Chairman, Brad Mattson. “We have already scaled 10X, and are poised to scale another 10X. We urge the industry to embrace the roadmap Husk followed. If funders and governments embrace the minigrid sector and this roadmap for success, together we can not only end energy poverty, but also lay the foundation for a rural industrial revolution.”

In 2022, Husk signaled its ambitions to do its part in fueling that revolution by signing a UN Energy Compact. It committed to build at least 5,000 minigrids by 2030 that would impact more than 10 million people and avoid 7 megatons of carbon emissions from diesel generators.

Corporate profitability in India and Nigeria was achieved against a backdrop of severe market disruption caused by Covid-19, global inflation and rising costs of capital, demonstrating the resilience of Husk’s business model.

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About About Husk Power Systems: Founded in 2008, Husk Power Systems is the leading net-zero energy services company in rural Asia and Africa, and operator of the largest fleet of community solar microgrids. Its smart and sustainable solutions 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.

• WeLight Madagascar’s access to energy initiative will receive €19 million in financing from the EIB, Triodos Investment Management and EDFI ElectriFI — the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative;
• The financing will be used to build and develop small solar mini-grids in over 120 villages in rural Madagascar, expanding WeLight’s coverage from eight regions to 17;
• The project aims to serve around 250 000 people, providing more than 45 000 households and businesses with first-time access to clean, affordable and productive energy and light.

17 January 2023: Today the European Investment Bank (EIB), Triodos Investment Management and EDFI ElectriFI announced their new collective investment of €19 million to support WeLight Madagascar’s €28 million project in Madagascar. The investment will enable WeLight to build and develop solar mini-grids to supply electricity to over 120 villages in Madagascar which currently have no access to the electricity grid.

WeLight existing shareholders AXIAN Group, a Pan-African group specialising in real estate, telecoms, financial services, energy and innovation; Sagemcom, a French industrial group and world leader in high added-value communicating terminals and solutions; and Norfund, the Norwegian investment fund for developing countries, cumulatively bring the remaining €9 million in the form of shareholder loans.

The new mini-grids will provide residents in off-grid rural villages access to clean and affordable energy. Alongside homes and businesses, the project will benefit schools, health centres and public spaces, strengthening the local economy and improving health, security and education.

Made up of a solar power plant and energy storage system, a distribution line and a meter for each customer, a mini-grid can supply electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The 120 additional villages cover 17 regions and were selected thanks to outstanding work with Madagascar’s Ministry of Energy and the Agency for the Development of Rural Electrification (ADER).

At present around a quarter of the population in Madagascar has access to electricity. Off-grid solar technology has proven to be a fast and effective solution to accelerate economic growth and sustainable development in regions where connection to the grid is still challenging.

Romain de Villeneuve, Chief Executive Officer of WeLight Madagascar, said, “This new project will significantly improve rural electrification in Madagascar. It will also positively impact hundreds of thousands of people, greatly enhancing living standards, the local economy and people’s well-being. WeLight has already deployed its solutions in more than 40 rural communities. The EIB, ElectriFI and Triodos, all of them financial experts in this industry for Africa, are now partnering with us to cover 120 additional villages. This is an encouraging vote of confidence in the relevance of WeLight solutions to answer the vital electrification needs of deprived communities.”

Thanks to the support of these partners and with AXIAN Group, Sagemcom and Norfund as its shareholders, and through the operational excellence developed to serve customers, WeLight will pursue its growth in Madagascar and in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where such types of needs are still not answered.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle remarked, “This project continues the EIB’s longstanding backing of off-grid solar energy in rural Africa, following successful projects in Benin, Chad, the Comoro Islands, Mozambique and Uganda. I am very happy that we can now implement such a project in Madagascar. Through these projects, the EIB aims to promote the scaling-up of the off-grid solar power Public model as part of its commitment to fighting climate change while fostering economic development and real improvements to people’s daily lives.”

ElectriFI Senior Investment Officer at EDFI Management Company Maud Watelet added: “This financing represents an important milestone for WeLight, as it will unlock the company’s potential to deploy more than a hundred mini-grids in Madagascar, a market with a significantly low electrification rate and challenging logistic conditions. EDFI ElectriFI’s first-mover role as a potential lender to WeLight has been pivotal to enable the company to attract co-investors in the current round. EDFI ElectriFI is particularly proud of the fruitful collaboration with the EIB and Triodos as co-investors in the project, and with Norfund, AXIAN Group and Sagemcom as sponsors of the company. Together, we share the commitment to bringing off-grid electricity to underserved communities and contributing to socioeconomic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Fadoua Boudiba, Regional Manager Africa and Middle East at Triodos Investment Management, explained, “The impact of mini-grid solutions is multifaceted. They are crucial in providing low-income households access to clean, affordable and reliable electricity, and they boost socioeconomic development for rural communities. The close collaboration between WeLight, committed shareholders and like-minded impact investors is an essential ingredient to enhance access to energy in rural communities. As such, we are extremely pleased to participate in this impactful initiative from WeLight Madagascar through our investment funds, Triodos Groenfonds, Hivos-Triodos Fund and Triodos Emerging Markets Renewables Energy Fund.”

Isabelle Delattre Burger, Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Madagascar, commented, “This project is a great example of the positive impact of Team Europe to improve daily life for people in Madagascar. Access to affordable and clean energy for all is an important Sustainable Development Goal and contributes to the green and just transition supported by the EU’s Global Gateway strategy.”

5 January 2023: Husk Power Systems has secured funding from Germany’s development finance institution DEG to build 8 new community solar microgrids in Nigeria, and to support expansion of the company’s India operations.

DEG allocated the funds from its Up-Scaling Program, which is co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The 5-year loan in the amount of US $749,000 follows Husk successfully closing debt totalling US $10.3 million from EDFI-ElectriFI and IREDA in 2022 to build over 200 microgrids in India. The DEG financing is the first debt raised by Husk for its business in Nigeria, where the company currently has 12 operational microgrids, and a target of building 500 by 2026.

The 8 microgrids in Nigeria will connect more than 500 residential and commercial customers, reduce the number of diesel generators in use by 400, while creating about 40 new direct local jobs.

Referring to the financing, Petra Kotte, Head of Banking and German Business Division, DEG, said: “Husk is exactly the type of company we’re looking for at the Up-Scaling Program, which supports innovative greentech business models in emerging markets that demonstrate high development impact and a significant reduction of carbon emissions.”

“Access to affordable debt is critical to scaling solar microgrids in Nigeria, home to 90 million people living without access to electricity,” said ManojSinha,Co-FounderandCEO, Husk. “This financing provides Husk with a solid foundation for unlocking additional debt, including local currency debt, this year and beyond.”

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About About Husk Power Systems: Founded in 2008, Husk Power Systems is the leading net-zero energy services company in rural Asia and Africa, and operator of the largest fleet of community solar microgrids. Its smart and sustainable solutions 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.

About DEG: For more than 60 years, DEG has been financing and advising private enterprises operating in developing and emerging-market countries. With a portfolio of around EUR €9.2 billion we’re one of the world’s largest private-sector development financiers. As an impact and climate investor we accompany companies that are addressing transformation and aiming to seize their opportunities. Our customers not only receive financing and advisory solutions tailored to their needs: they can build on our market knowledge, our impact and climate expertise and our international network. In this way, we contribute together to creating more skilled jobs and local income and to improving value creation on the ground in line with the SDGs. For more information, visit: deginvest.de.

21 December 2022: Sustainable energy developer Safi Power has completed a 400kWp rooftop solar PV installation at the Coastal Bottlers plant in Mombasa, helping the soft drinks bottler to transition one of its PET production lines to a cleaner and more affordable source of energy.

The project, funded by Spark Energy Services (Spark), is expected to generate c.600MWh of renewable energy a year, leading to more than 8,000 tonnes of avoided greenhouse gas emissions over the project’s lifetime and a like-for-like reduction in the company’s power costs of over 25%. The installation is the second of three phases of the project, with the first phase – commissioned in August 2020 – seeing the transition of Coastal Bottlers’ administrative block and wastewater treatment plant to solar power, enabling the company to avoid 6,720 tons of CO2 emissions.

In the latest phase, Coastal Bottlers, which has been operating in Kenya for the last 60 years, employed Nairobi-based Safi Power to identify and implement an on-site power generation solution at its premises near Mombasa to reduce carbon emissions and streamline operating costs.

The project was made possible courtesy of a financing agreement between Safi Power and Spark, an energy finance platform designed by climate and impact fund manager, Camco, to support energy efficiency and captive solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) sector.

Through the agreement, Spark provides development partners such as Safi Power with 100% upfront financing for the installation of on-site renewable energy and energy efficiency equipment for C&I businesses. In doing so, the platform’s innovative business model supports the C&I sector as an engine for economic growth by enabling access to clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions for businesses that are both replicable and scalable, while also increasing the provision of high-skilled jobs in the region.

The Coastal Bottlers project is Spark’s largest funded installation to date, bringing the aggregate installed capacity of Spark-funded projects to 550kWp, in addition to the provision of multiple energy efficiency installations.

Camco’s Adam Fitzwilliam, who heads up Spark, said: “We are thrilled to work again with Safi Power on financing their sustainable energy pipeline. Supporting businesses such as Coastal Bottlers on their path to net zero is exactly why we initially established Spark, and we look forward to continued dialogue with Coastal Bottlers to help them become a regional leader in sustainability by further reducing their energy consumption and costs.”

Earlier this year, Safi Power completed a 90kWp solar rooftop installation with Spark funding at a paper manufacturing plant in Jula’s industrial area, near Nairobi.

David Kinyua, co-founder of Safi Power, said: ‘It’s been a rewarding relationship working with Camco’s Spark team, as off-balance sheet funding has been a challenge through the traditional commercial lending approach. Camco also brings international experience, especially on ESG reporting, which has helped Safi Power ensure its execution complies with best practice.”

Seth Adu-Baah, CEO of Coastal Bottlers, said: “This is a significant milestone for us as Coastal bottlers as we continue to drive and embrace innovation in every part of our business to reduce our carbon footprint.

“This second phase of the project, commissioned in October 2022, now adds our PET line, delivering even more combined impact. Transitioning a whole production line to solar energy brings us closer to achieving our ambitious goals to contribute solutions to climate change. We remain committed to doing business the right way to create a more sustainable and better-shared future in people’s lives, our communities and the planet.”

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About Spark Energy Services: Spark finances energy efficiency and captive solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) sector, building a diversified and well-structured portfolio of clean energy projects across Africa with a strong ESG profile. The company was designed by Camco and is managed by the company from its offices in Accra, Johannesburg and Nairobi. For more information, visit: https://www.camco.fm/spark.

About Camco: Camco is a specialist climate and impact fund manager, leading the 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.fm.

About Safi Power: Safi Power is a Kenyan-owned regional alternative energy solutions developer. Headquartered in Nairobi, Safi Power has been creating customized solar and other renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for East Africa’s commercial and industrial sector for four years, with a team that has a background of over 10 years in the renewable energy space. The company offers its clients a full suite of energy management services, from site feasibility, power consumption profiling and business case financial modelling, to fully financed project design, EPC, and ongoing operation and monitoring.

About Coastal Bottlers: Coastal Bottlers is one of Coca-Cola’s oldest bottlers in Kenya having started operation in 1962 as a small company in Mombasa Old town that delivered beverages to the colonial community on the coast of Kenya.

The plant runs several lines, including a returnable glass bottling line of 40,000 bottles/hour capacity, a canning line which is the only line in East and Central Africa with a capacity of 30,000 cans/hour and a PET (plastic bottles) line of 26,000 bottles/hour capacity.

The plant is ISO-certified and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)-certified. Due to its quality score being 100%, the company won Gold Award from Coca-Cola.

20 December 2022: Gridworks, the UK government-backed investor in Africa’s electricity networks, has today announced it will invest up to US$50 million in Virunga Power.

Virunga Power develops, invests and operates hydro-backed distributed renewable power generation projects and grid distribution networks that bring reliable and sustainable electricity to rural communities and businesses in East and Southern Africa. Gridworks was established, and is wholly owned, by British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution. Gridworks’ focus is to create development impact by connecting Africa’s people and businesses to reliable, affordable, clean power.

Gridworks’ investment will fund new projects across the continent, including in Burundi, Malawi, Zambia and Kenya. It will also support the substantial growth of the Zengamina hydro-backed rural utility in northern Zambia (pictured above), resulting in increased generation capacity and the addition of thousands of new connections.

Virunga Power works with local developers and rural communities to drive sustainable economic growth and electrification for those not effectively served by national utilities. The company uses run-of-river hydropower technology and focuses on projects of up to 20 MW as well as associated transmission and distribution networks to provide affordable access to energy in rural areas, and to reinforce national grid stability.

Rural electrification is a key part of Gridworks’ mandate and an area that is gaining greater attention from governments, funders, and policy makers as the push to achieve connection targets under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals intensifies. According to the World Bank, Zambia, Malawi and, in particular, Burundi have some of the world’s lowest rural electrification rates (15%, 6% and 2%, respectively).

The impact of this investment will be measured in a number of ways, including new GW hours generated, new connections made, and CO2 emissions avoided.

Virunga Power works with its newly connected communities to generate new income by using electricity to stimulate industrial and commercial activity. The company works with local financing and community development partners to help foster ecosystems that can drive productive uses of energy at the household, village, and industrial levels. For example, this includes helping customers buy machinery that can improve farming yields and boost income.

Virunga Power’s current institutional backers include EDFI ElectriFI, the EU-funded Electrification Financing Initiative, and the Camco-managed Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP,) who are leading investors in early-stage energy access and renewable energy companies in Africa. Together they provided Virunga Power with critical growth capital during its ‘Series A’ investment round which closed in 2019.

Welcoming the announcement, Gridworks’ CEO, Simon Hodson, said: “I’m delighted to announce our investment in Virunga Power. Access to reliable, clean, affordable energy is a catalyst to a better life, but this is currently out of reach for people in the rural areas that Virunga Power wants to serve. We’re committed to making Virunga Power our platform to build hydro-powered rural utilities in at least four countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. Our capital will help them to close the energy access gap and unlock opportunities for people across the region.”

Brian Kelly, CEO of Virunga Power, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to announce this transformational investment from Gridworks. An investment of this magnitude validates the approach we take to bringing clean and affordable power at scale to rural areas. Our pipeline and portfolio of utility projects continues to grow, and we will use the capital and expertise from Gridworks to expand electricity access and drive economic and industrial growth in communities across the region.”

Jean-Denis Collin, ElectriFI Manager at EDFI Management Company, said: “Over the past four years, EDFI ElectriFI, sponsored by the European Union, together with Power Africa, and the governments of Sweden and Italy, were instrumental in validating the model and further secure a pipeline of run-of-the-river hydro projects in East Africa. Gridworks’ investment is timely and catalytic; it brings additional expertise and capital to further convert the pipeline and build a strong hydro-powered rural utility platform in Southern and Eastern Africa. Congratulations to all involved.”

Ben Hugues, REPP Lead at Camco, said: “As an early-stage investor, we have long since seen the enormous potential of Virunga Power in delivering transformative impact to communities across the region. Our confidence in and support for the company has enabled it to grow to the point where it has been able to secure this pivotal investment from Gridworks, which will help the company deliver on its exciting expansion plans.”

14 December 2022: Today, at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a Global Development Alliance, one of the largest in USAID history, the Health Electrification and Telecommunication Alliance (HETA). It is a five-year cooperative agreement that will invest USAID resources to leverage more than $150 million of additional private sector resources to install reliable, renewable power and provide mobile network and Internet access for at least 10,000 health facilities across sub-Saharan Africa. The announcement follows USAID Power Africa’s call for new business approaches based on the latest clean energy technology.

More than 100,000 public health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to reliable electricity and almost all of them lack access to an internet connection. Millions of people seeking care and treatment are at risk because they cannot depend on refrigeration for medical commodities like vaccines, the presence of lights for births or emergency surgeries at night, or the digital connectivity for communications and records management that modern medicine relies on. In short, insufficient power denies access to life-saving care.

U.S. company Abt is serving as lead integrator for HETA with partners RESOLVE, and founding private sector alliance partners bechtel.org (Bechtel’s social enterprise), Orange, and 25 other companies, organizations, and foundations in the healthcare, energy, and telecommunications sectors.

Through this Alliance, and with dedicated design and operational support from USAID’s global health program, African government partners, and alliance members – health facilities will be outfitted to provide renewable energy and digital connectivity to improve healthcare service delivery and support U.S. commitments made at the United Nations General Assembly and last year’s United Nations 26th Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26).

The systems will include solar, battery, and other innovative energy technology to provide reliable energy to the mobile networks and health facilities. The HETA model will generate surplus energy allowing nearby businesses and homes to purchase the excess electricity.

The sale of this extra power to the surrounding community will generate income to maintain the system and provide financial sustainability to establish the initiative as a formal program outside of USAID. Providing electricity access also creates hubs for local development, giving people access to the power and connectivity they need to start or grow businesses, stimulate incomes, and create new communities of connection. This will also help accelerate improvements in delivery of primary health care services, supporting advance of USAID global health program goals, aligned to primary health care focus countries announced this week.

HETA’s long-term vision looks beyond 10,000 facilities. Part of HETA’s mission is to design an alliance with a large number of partners that can continue beyond USAID funding support. USAID and its HETA alliance partners are already looking to build the funding base and governance structures to create this independent organization.

8 December 2022: The launch of the ElectriFI Country Window for Mozambique, a tailored EUR 15 million package funded by the EU to invest in early-stage renewable energy companies active in the country, took place on Thursday 7 December in Maputo, within the business conference Renováveis em Moçambique 2022.

With only a bit more of 40% of households having access to electricity, Mozambique remains largely unelectrified. The ambitious targets set by the government include the connection of the entire population to electricity (off and on-grid) by 2030. The ElectriFI Country Window for Mozambique funded by the EU in close cooperation with the national government, offers a suitable instrument to meet those ambitions while contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Country Window package, consisting in a EUR 15 million envelope, funded under the European Development Fund and from the programme PROMOVE Energia managed by the EU Delegation with the Government of Mozambique aims to boost access to energy in rural areas.

The purpose of the dedicated funding for Mozambique is to allow the private sector to contribute to rural development through electrification. The Country Window should allow us to finance up to 10 projects dedicated to accelerating access to clean energy, in a sustainable and inclusive way. The regions of Nampula and Zambezia are prime examples of areas where the financing could be deployed.

“We are very glad that Mozambique joins today the ElectriFI family together with many other African countries. Out of the 113 million EUR of committed investments through country windows, we are proud to say that 75% are for investment projects in Sub-Saharan Africa! In adhering to this initiative, Mozambique, national private sector and international investors will take advantage from the network of 15 European Development Finance Institutions (EDFIs) from EU Member States, which have joined forces and are jointly managing this initiative. This great opportunity will help channel liquidity from DFIs and commercial funders to the private sector in Mozambique” said Antonino Maggiore, European Union Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique.

The ElectriFI Country Window for Mozambique offers an innovative blending instrument to support the risk capital needs of early-stage companies who via the support of the ElectriFI facility can further build their track record, strengthen their operations and deliver on sustainable impact. The new Country Window also includes a EUR 500,000 dedicated budget for Technical Assistance to help support existing and potential ElectriFI clients in Mozambique.

“The ElectriFI country window in Mozambique is the result of strategic partnerships established in a Team Europe approach. By offering financing and assistance to renewable energy companies, we aim to contribute to Mozambique’s electrification, job creation and climate mitigation efforts. In turn, we aim to mobilise additional private investors to commit over EUR 25 million in those companies”, explained Corentin Billiet, ElectriFI Senior Investment Officer at EDFI MC.

By unlocking Mozambican’s economic, social and environmental development opportunities across various value chains, the Country Window will contribute to national implementation plans to reach the Sustainable Development Goals and the national programme “Energia para Todos” in particular.

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About EDFI ElectriFI: EDFI ElectriFI is an EU-funded impact investment facility, financing early-stage private companies and projects, focusing on new/improved electricity connections as well as on generation capacity from sustainable energy sources in emerging markets.

EDFI ElectriFI, is managed by the EDFI Management Company, a company established by the 15 European Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). For more information, visit: https://www.electrifi.eu/.

1 December 2022: In the context of the 1st Conference “OFF-GRID ENERGY REGULATORY FRAMEWORK, A REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE” the Government of Mozambique, as part of the efforts to ensure Universal Access to Energy by 2030, announced that it has developed and approved with the competent bodies within the Ministry of Mineral and Energy Resources the package of technical regulations complementing Decree 93/2021 Regulation on access to off grid Energy.

With the approval of this package of regulations, and the implementation of subsequent formalization and publication steps, the path to accelerated access to energy for all is becoming a reality.

The list of regulations and instruments is inclusive of: Regulation on concessions for mini-grids and registration for energy services; Regulation on technical and safety standards; Regulation on interconnection; Regulation on the standards of quality of service and commercial relations, Regulation on mini-grid tariffs; among other instruments.

This regulatory framework marks a new era for the energy sector and especially for mini-grid developers and operators to be able to work in Mozambique; therefore the country joins the other neighbouring countries with mechanisms to catalyze the off-grid energy sector and ensure the necessary conditions for the private sector to accelerate its investments and scale its operations in a diverse set of technologies applicable to the off-grid context, such as solar home systems, mini-grids and improved cooking solutions.

The Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE), in collaboration with the National Energy Fund (FUNAE), the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy (MIREME), the BRILHO Programme (funded by the Governments of the United Kingdom and Sweden, and implemented by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation), and specific contributions from other entities, developed this package of regulations that represents a strategic leap to provide quality energy solutions to the entire population, including those in off grid areas.

This important advance, announced in the context of the 1st Regional Conference on the Regulatory Framework for the off-grid energy sector, comes at a time when the Government of Mozambique is preparing to initiate the implementation of the new framework.

“This regulatory framework for off-grid energy is solid, resulting from intense work that was led by the Government of Mozambique and with continued support from SNV-BRILHO. We are committed to the development of the off-grid energy sector, where the private sector plays a central role. The private sector is recognized as a partner of the Government on this path for the country to achieve universal access targets by 2030.” – António Saíde – Vice – Minister of Energy and National Resources.

“Investment in the off-grid sector is critical for human development and social growth, as it is part of the measures to reduce and mitigate the impacts of climate change.” – Dominic Ashton – Development Director of the United Kingdom High Commission.

“The regulatory framework will allow leveraging of private investments; which is key to achieve the targets set by the national electrification strategy.“- Mette Sunnergren – Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden.

“The work developed in the context of the partnership of the Government of Mozambique with SNV – BRILHO is of immense quality, which leads SNV to have as a plan its replication in other geographies.” – Simon Oconnell – CEO da SNV.

“This represents a major achievement for the off-grid sector in Mozambique. It will contribute to accelerating and increasing access to energy through solar home systems and green mini-grids for electrification, and clean cooking solutions, benefiting households and businesses with a greener, more inclusive and sustainable economy. The required regulatory conditions are now provided for the businesses to initiate and scale up their operations in Mozambique’s off-grid energy market; the BRILHO Programme is ready and available to provide the financial and technical support for their implementation“. – Javier Ayala, Team Leader of the BRILHO Programme and Energy Sector Leader for SNV Mozambique.

1 December 2022: The UK government-funded Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), which is managed by Camco, has chalked up another successful investment exit. REPP initially invested in mini-grid developer ARC Power in 2019 and has now recovered its investment while continuing to support the company through a partial equity conversion.

REPP’s initial convertible loan in 2019, and an additional convertible loan in 2020, has enabled ARC Power to pursue its ambitious plan to build a large portfolio of solar mini-grids in Rwanda.

The early-stage financing has proved critical in helping the British-based developer to finalise the initial phase of the project, which involved the construction of four mini-grid generation systems serving six distribution networks. These networks are now supplying electricity to 14 villages in Bugesera and Gatsibo Districts and have so far connected over 10,000 people, 153 microbusinesses and 3 critical services to electricity for the first time.

Rwanda has set a target of universal energy access by 2024, and ARC Power is currently working on a collaboration with the Government of Rwanda to accelerate progress through the construction of grid-connected mini-grids and standalone systems.

Under the exit deal, REPP has agreed to a repayment of the loans as well as a partial equity conversion. The repayment will settle ARC Power’s debt to REPP, while the equity conversion will further support ARC Power’s expansion plans in Rwanda.

Ben Hugues, Investment Director and REPP Lead at Camco, said: “When REPP first invested in ARC Power it was not without its risks, but we saw great potential in the company and its leadership. Today our faith has been rewarded, with our early-stage investments playing a critical role in crowding in additional lenders and enabling ARC Power to deliver on its phase one objectives.”

He added: “The repayment of the loans, with partial conversion of the accrued interest into equity, secures REPP’s capital and retains significant upside exposure. It also demonstrates our continued faith in the company to deliver on its impressive plans for expansion and asserting itself as one of the leading mini-grid developers in the region.”

Outside of Rwanda, ARC Power has recently secured the largest national concession to roll out mini-grids in Mozambique through its in-country partners, with construction due to start imminently on a large mini-grid in Gaza Province that will connect more than 3,000 people to electricity for the first time. The project has been made possible after ARC Power secured additional financing from an existing funder, which was mobilised as a direct result of REPP’s equity conversion and the increased confidence in the developer it has brought.

Karl Boyce, CEO of ARC Power, said: “We are very pleased to have REPP as a shareholder ahead of our next phase of growth. Having successfully delivered the first phase, ARC Power has secured a significant pipeline across four countries in East and Southern Africa, and we are now working on our Series-A to allow us to really scale in line with our vision of building a pan-African clean utility business.”

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About REPP: The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), managed by Camco, 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 38 renewable energy projects across 18 countries, employing seven different technologies, from solar home systems and PV mini-grids to onshore wind and run-of-river hydro. For more information, visit: https://repp.energy.

About Camco: Camco is a specialist climate and impact fund manager, leading the 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.fm.

About ARC Power: ARC Power provides affordable, reliable and clean solar electricity to communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. We design, develop and install both off-grid and grid-tied AC power generation systems (ARCs) and distribution networks that provide 24-hour electricity, becoming the hub of the community and empowering families and small businesses to thrive. ARC Power is redefining the nature of energy provision and the relationship between energy companies and national energy providers, leveraging proven expertise to rapidly deploy high quality ‘first-time’ energy while complimenting national grid expansion, grid stability and the clean energy mix. For more information, visit: https://www.arcpower.co/.

30 November 2022: The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) programme has signed its first agreements in Uganda to support the expansion and scale-up of high-quality solar home systems. The projects will scale up energy access in rural and peri-urban areas in the country with the help of results-based financing provided from the programme.

The first projects have been signed with d.light Design Uganda and ENGIE Energy Access Uganda. The total value of the two first agreements is approx. EUR 5.2 million, enabling the establishment of up to 370,000 high-quality energy service connections, which will benefit approx. 1.8 million people.

d.light is a local solar distributor in Uganda, established in 2016 as an operational subsidiary of the d.light Group. The company enables reliable power through solar energy solutions with a Pay-As-You-Go business model. The company has sold over 25 million products, including solar lanterns, solar home systems, TVs, radios and smartphones. d.light is planning to distribute 200,000 new high-quality, clean and affordable solar home systems in its existing areas of operation in the country and to grow its distribution partnerships in new geographic areas of Uganda.

“Our 2030 goal is to help transform the lives of 1 billion people through access to our sustainable products. We are very excited to partner with the BGFA programme to expand our activities in Uganda. The received financing will enable us to scale up energy access faster in rural areas of Uganda, benefiting approx. 1 million people,” comments Nick Imudia, CEO at d.light.

“We are very happy to support d.light Uganda to help the company scale up access to affordable off-grid solar home systems in the country. With the results-based financing from the BGFA programme, this project will contribute to improving the quality of life of people living in rural and peri-urban areas in Uganda,” says Aliona Fomenco, Programme Manager at Nefco.

ENGIE Energy Access Uganda (previously Fenix International) was established in 2013 as a subsidiary of the French mother company ENGIE. ENGIE Energy Access Uganda has sold over 700,000 solar home systems in Uganda, bringing clean, reliable power for lights, phones, radios and TVs. Now, the company intends to further scale up its existing business activities by setting up, up to 170,000 new high-quality energy service subscriptions to customers in rural and peri-urban areas of Uganda. The company will provide energy services through sales of solar home systems at affordable prices and scale at a pace that would not be possible without the BGFA funding.

“We are excited to partner with BGFA over the next four years and improve the lives of over 800,000 people with our solar entry-level kits. Thanks to the use of digital tools and strong penetration of mobile money in sub-Saharan Africa, we sell access to energy products to our customers on credit to make them affordable. With the much-needed support from impact investors such as BGFA, we will be able to provide sustainable, renewable energy to communities that are most vulnerable and help them climb the energy ladder,” comments Gillian-Alexandre Huart, CEO of ENGIE Energy Access.

“We are very happy to continue our cooperation with ENGIE Energy Access with this new project in Uganda and support its business expansion and scale-up of solar home systems on the market and the creation of approx. 170,000 new energy connections,” says Kari Hämekoski, Senior Programme Manager at Nefco.

The supported projects will help to improve the affordability of off-grid energy products in Uganda. From a longer-term perspective, the projects will increase job opportunities, enable better quality education and support the transformation of increased usage of renewable energy sources. In addition to these first two projects, Nefco is currently negotiating further project agreements also with local Ugandan companies. The BGFA expansion in Uganda is financed by Denmark and Sweden.

The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa has so far contracted 13 projects: 2 from Uganda (BGFA3) and 11 from its first funding round in Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zambia (BGFA1). Further projects are under negotiation from both BGFA1 and BGFA3. The latest and fourth funding round (BGFA4) opened in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in June 2022 and launched its second stage of the application process earlier in November, inviting successful applicants to submit their Final Applications.

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About d.light Design Uganda: d.light is a global leader in making transformative products available and affordable to low-income families. d.light enables reliable power through solar energy solutions and financing with Pay-As-You-Go technology. The company has sold over 25 million products including solar lanterns, solar home systems, TVs, radios and smartphones, aiming to transform the lives of 1 billion people with sustainable products. For more information, visit: www.dlight.com.

About ENGIE Energy Access: ENGIE Energy Access is one of the leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) and mini-grid solutions providers in Africa, with a mission to deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable energy solutions and life-changing services with exceptional customer experience. The company is a result of the integration of Fenix International, ENGIE Mobisol and ENGIE PowerCorner, and it develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services and businesses, giving customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. The PAYGo solar home systems are financed through affordable instalments from USD 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. For more information, visit: www.engie-energyaccess.com.

About BGFA: The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa is a multi-donor facility established and managed by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco). Nefco is an international financial institution based in Helsinki, Finland, focusing on environmental and climate investments. BGFA is implemented in partnership with NIRAS and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP). NIRAS is a development and engineering consultancy company headquartered in Denmark with offices in over 25 countries across Europe, Africa, South Asia and Latin America. REEEP is an international multilateral partnership based in Vienna, Austria, that works to accelerate market-based deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions in developing countries. For more information, visit: beyondthegrid.africa.

22 November 2022: CarbonAi Inc. (CarbonAi) is proud to announce that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of Nigeria to identify and develop small-scale solar energy projects in that country. The projects will be funded by proceeds from carbon credits that are generated through CarbonAi-financed and developed flare gas capture projects in Nigeria.

Under the MOU, the parties will explore opportunities to finance and develop solar energy projects in unserved or underserved communities near CarbonAi’s flare gas capture projects in Nigeria. The REA will apply its knowledge of Nigeria’s rural electrification requirements and programs to identify appropriate project opportunities and liaise with local communities.

CarbonAi, in turn, will apply its carbon finance and project development expertise to finance, design and construct the projects. The company will also quantify, verify and monetize greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions using its proprietary data management platform.

The REA is an implementation agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Ministry of Power. It is primarily tasked with promoting and increasing access to electricity in unserved and underserved rural communities across Nigeria.

CarbonAi is a world-leading developer of fully integrated GHG reduction projects and GHG emissions quantification and monetization solutions. Based in Calgary and Dubai, the company provides full-cycle flare gas capture services in Africa and the Middle East, from project finance, design and construction to carbon credit quantification, verification and sale. For each project that CarbonAi develops, it invests a portion of carbon credit revenues to help local organizations develop sustainability initiatives through the CarbonAi Climate Dividend Programme.

“We are excited to work with the REA as our CarbonAi Climate Dividend Programme partner in Nigeria,” stated CarbonAi’s Chief Carbon Officer, Yvan Champagne. ”We are strong believers in win-win outcomes, and we believe our Climate Dividend Programme captures the spirit of the energy transition by leveraging immediate reductions in today’s energy system to build the energy system of tomorrow in Nigeria.”

Flaring of gas is a common practice in oil and gas activities worldwide; however, it generates high levels of GHGs and harmful local pollutants, often creating serious local air and water quality issues. Nigeria has the third highest number of gas flares globally, but the country has pledged to eliminate the practice by 2025. Many communities in Nigeria’s high-flaring regions do not currently have access to reliable electricity. The parties believe this MOU will be an important step in providing reliable renewable energy to local communities that are currently unserved and underserved, while improving local air quality associated with gas flaring.

Managing Director/CEO of the REA, Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad added that “REA’s collaboration with CarbonAi is timely and solution-driven. The off-grid space in Nigeria is undergoing commendable growth. With the resultant opportunities, key stakeholders must take the responsibility to leverage these opportunities to accelerate sustainable impact, nationwide. This is another strategic and innovative way to finance climate-resilient infrastructure in Nigeria while alleviating energy poverty.”

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About the Rural Electrification Agency (REA): The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), under the Federal Ministry of Power, tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities with the aim to catalyse economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians. The REA is currently administering the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) and implementing the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and several initiatives in furtherance of its mandate.

To give effect to some of its initiatives, REA has obtained financing amounting to $550 million ($350 million from the World Bank and $200 million from the African Development Bank) for financing the Nigeria Electrification Project, and an additional $11 million for financing the Rural Electrification Fund for the deployment of Solar hybrid mini grids and solar home systems. These funds will ensure that millions of Nigerians have access to clean, safe, reliable, and affordable electricity. For more information, visit: https://rea.gov.ng.

About CarbonAi: CarbonAi is a world-leading developer of fully integrated greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects and GHG emissions quantification and monetization data solutions. Based in Calgary, Canada and Dubai, The Company provides full-cycle GHG reduction services, from project finance, construction and operation to carbon credit quantification, verification and sale. It also offers a cloud-based data platform to integrate and manage GHG emissions data from numerous, diverse and dispersed data sources, allowing for real-time emissions monitoring and forecasting, as well as streamlined verification and crediting. For more information, visit: www.CarbonAi.ca.

15 November 2022: Launched today at the United Nations Climate Conference COP27, the Africa Minigrids Program (AMP) is a country-led technical assistance program that supports countries to rapidly and cost-effectively provide electricity and new development opportunities to some of Africa’s poorest communities.

With funding led by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and implemented by UNDP in partnership with national governments, RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), the AMP’s market transformation approach aims to help countries crowd in private investment to scale up and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy minigrids.

Minigrids are stand-alone electricity networks that are typically not connected to the national electricity grid. Solar-battery minigrids hold great potential to boost electricity access in the AMP’s 21 countries – powering households, key social services such as health centers and schools, and businesses, driving economic growth. UNDP modelling estimates that minigrids will be the lowest-cost approach to bring electricity to 265 million people in these countries by the year 2030. US$65 billion in new investments, primarily from the private sector, would be needed to realize the minigrid opportunity in such countries. This is estimated to equate to the construction of 110,000 minigrids, bringing electricity to more than 200,000 schools and clinics, and more than 900,000 businesses.

“We know that innovative policies, technologies, and business models to scale up existing solutions are needed to achieve SDG 7 on universal access to affordable and reliable energy – business-as-usual won’t do,” said Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. “The AMP is UNDP’s most ambitious electricity access program to date. Its market transformation approach aims to deliver impact at the pace and scale needed to effectively help countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, leaving no-one behind.”

“Improving access to clean energy in remote areas has so many benefits — it directly improves quality of life, creates job opportunities particularly for women, and also reduces carbon emissions,” added Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF. “This is why the GEF is investing in energy access as part of our mission to invest in the planet. I am thrilled to see the Africa Minigrids Program advance and look forward to sharing the lessons from its rollout across our partnership and in all the countries and communities we are supporting in the clean energy transition.”

With a focus on various cost-reduction levers, AMP aims to support scale-up investment by improving the financial viability of minigrids. The program will work with countries to put in place the policies and regulations that enable large-scale private investment, durably creating the conditions for renewable energy minigrids to be deployed at scale.

Scaling up action to bring new sustainable development opportunities across Africa

Access to energy is a precondition to socio-economic development. Yet half of the people living in sub-Saharan Africa – 568 million people – don’t have access to electricity, effectively locking some of the world’s most vulnerable communities in poverty. The AMP aims to bring the development benefits of energy access to a wide array of communities across the continent by focusing on supporting productive uses of energy, which supports socio-economic development by enhancing the quality of sectors that require energy input such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and small businesses.

“We cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals without sustainable energy for all. It is urgent to drastically scale-up solutions that close the energy access gap. We must address this blatant inequality,” said Ahunna Eziakonwa, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director for Africa at UNDP. “The AMP has the potential to be a game changer for millions of people in Africa.”

“Green minigrids are not only key to closing Africa’s energy access gap, they can also provide a critical impetus to socio-economic development in rural areas, boost climate resilience and displace carbon-intensive fuel sources,” added Dr Daniel Schroth, Director, Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, African Development Bank. “We are therefore delighted to join the AMP partnership led by UNDP to deliver the much-needed upstream work on minigrids, and look forward to bringing the catalytic finance instruments of the African Development Bank and Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa to make these projects happen on the ground.”

Building on a rich community of minigrid stakeholders together with our partners

The AMP aims to complement activities supporting minigrid investment in Africa, and has therefore identified three key areas of opportunities to focus on: national dialogues to identify the best ways to deploy minigrids; productive use of energy, and digitalization for minigrids.

The 21 AMP countries represent a diverse set of African countries, each with their own energy market specificities and development contexts: large and smaller markets; Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone countries; small island developing states; and countries in post-crisis contexts.

“The AMP aims to harness the diversity and richness of Africa’s minigrids landscape”, said Jon Creyts, CEO of RMI. “With RMI’s Energy Transition Academy, and our Africa team’s long-standing expertise in productive uses of energy, we will create a powerful network that will replicate our think-do-scale approach on minigrids in areas lacking adequate energy access around the world.”

The AMP is a key component of UNDP’s pledge to mobilize partners through its Sustainable Energy Hub to enable 500 million additional people to have access to sustainable, affordable, reliable energy by 2025. AMP’s implementation has already started with the launch of the Nigeria and Eswatini national projects in 2022 and will continue until 2027.

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Program information: The participating 21 AMP countries are: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome e Principe, Somalia, Sudan, Zambia.

For more information, visit the AMP webpage: www.africaminigrids.org.

15 November 2022: The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), Business Eswatini (BE) and the Renewable Energy Association of Eswatini (REAESWA) organised the EU Green Power Transformation Forum Workshop on the 9th of November 2022 in Mbabane. The event was held with the support of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Eswatini and the two European programmes GET.invest and GET.transform.

This hybrid workshop convened public and private sector representatives to enable business partnerships and knowledge sharing to catalyse investments and power sector reform to support the energy transition in Eswatini. The workshop was a great success, with more than 80 participants joining the debate and discussing opportunities for the energy transition in Eswatini on-site and over 50 people following the workshop online.

The agenda was opened by Constance Vanzuydam, Chairperson of REAESWA, and followed by welcome notes from ARE, GIZ, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy and the EU Delegation to Eswatini before moving on to presentations on the basics of renewable energy, the legal and policy frameworks of the country with a focus on the 2050 Energy Master Plan Eswatini. The existing generation investment plans and some examples of success stories in the country were also shared with the participants.

The workshop then continued with two roundtables on the role of different actors in the renewable energy sector of the country and bankability and project financing. A final panel discussion addressed the skilled job force for the Eswatini renewable energy sector.

The event was hosted in the context of the EU Green Power Transformation Forum, which included the launch of a country window of the impact investment facility Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI), as well as the launch of the Eswatini country window of GET.invest and GET.transform, which are supported by the EU, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria. ElectriFI is set to increase access to clean energy in Eswatini through providing suitable finance to companies and project developers. Hand in hand with this, GET.invest and GET.transform will deploy their global services and tailor them to the local requirements. More concretely, they will leverage their expertise on the private and public sector to support conducive renewable energy sector regulations and mobilise investments in private renewable energy projects. With this holistic approach, the new country windows thus contribute to developing truly viable energy sector solutions in Eswatini.

Dessislava Choumelova, EU Ambassador to Eswatini pointed out: “We are pleased to see these experienced programmes starting their work in Eswatini now. We believe the workshop and programmes will be the starting point of a new era for the renewable energy sector in Eswatini in bringing together all relevant actors to discuss all the key drivers for a good business environment for renewables.”

“The workshop was a great kick-off for the activities of GET.invest and GET.transform in Eswatini. Bringing together renewable energy stakeholders from both the public and private sector, it allowed us to establish the common ground and the valuable links we need to help advance Eswatini’s energy transition” summarised Ferdinand Nell, Country Coordinator for GET.invest and GET.transform Eswatini.

Overall, the EU Green Power Transformation Forum Workshop stressed how renewable solutions in Eswatini’s energy mix are a prerequisite to meeting the country’s aim of universal access to clean energy while ensuring that sustainability remains a key pillar in these efforts.

Jens Jæger, Director of Policy & Business Development at ARE underlined that: “Building on Eswatini’s commitment to renewable energies, we are happy to see significant momentum for the clean energy transition in the country. ARE is looking forward to further support Eswatini in reaching its universal electrification and climate change targets through moblisation of the decentralised renewable energy industry.”