With 650 million Africans still without access to electricity, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is joining forces with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to address energy sector financing in Africa. This will take place on 22 August 2022 during a virtual meeting that will also bring together several private sector actors from the continent.
“How can development institutions and the private sector better finance energy deficit mitigation on the continent? This is the big question that will be discussed at a virtual forum to be held on 22 August 2022. The meeting, jointly organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will mobilise several experts, particularly in the fields of green finance, climate and energy.
On the agenda will be the financing of hydrogen and renewable energy as well as the role of energy efficiency in achieving the net zero target. These topics will be discussed at a time when the war in Ukraine is undermining global energy security. In this context, Kevin Kariuki, AfDB Vice President in charge of Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, will review the strategy of his financial institution in Africa.
According to the AfDB, the resolutions of this meeting will be presented at the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad 8) which takes place on 27 August 2022 in Tunis, the Tunisian capital.
Accelerating access to clean energy through climate finance
Despite the financial barriers slowing down electrification in Africa, the continent is pursuing its energy transition through several initiatives implemented by development partners. For example, the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SEforALL) recently signed an agreement to accelerate access to renewable energy in Africa. The Financial Innovation Centre, which is due to be launched in November 2022 at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, will identify, unlock, de-risk and scale up private sector investment in electricity access.
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In the meantime, the Desert to Power programme initiated by the AfDB is in full swing in 11 African countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sudan). It aims to deploy solar energy in the Sahel, strengthen the transmission grid, deploy off-grid solutions, improve the business climate, and revitalise national electricity companies. Through Desert to Power, the AfDB aims to provide solar energy to 250 million people living in the Sahel.
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Benoit-Ivan Wansi
