Ziz Energie obtains a new loan for the installation of its solar mini-grids in Chad. The €1.5 million loan is being provided by Proparco, a subsidiary of the French Development Agency (AFD) group, to support the development of Ziz Energie’s activities in Chad. The Chadian company installs and operates solar-powered electricity networks, mainly in secondary towns.
According to Proparco, the loan of more than 983 million CFA francs will enable new electricity connections to be made, impacting the lives of at least 500,000 people in Chad. The Central African country is one of the worst performers in terms of electrification on the continent, with a rate of only 9% according to Power Africa. As is already the case in other sub-Saharan African countries with underdeveloped national electricity grids, off-grid solutions could enable Chad to catch up.
Contributing to the SDGs
This is where Ziz comes in with its mini-electricity networks. With the financing from Proparco, the company headed by Ibrahim Zakaria will contribute to the seventh Sustainable Development Goal (SDG7) on access to clean and affordable energy and SDG11 on sustainable cities and communities.
Read also- AFRICA: Proparco invests $10 million in Sun King’s solar kits
In addition to Proparco, Ziz also received a €6 million loan from the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) in November 2021 to electrify the towns of Mongo and Ati with two hybrid solar mini-grids. For each of these towns to the east of the capital N’Djamena, the project involves financing, building and commissioning a solar power plant with a capacity of 2.5 MWp. Each facility is equipped with a 1.5 MW/5 MWh battery electricity storage system, as well as back-up generators with a capacity of 1.5 MW.
In recent years, Ziz has also received financing from the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), E3 Capital and commercial banks, including Ecobank based in Lomé, Togo, and Banque Commerciale du Chari (BCC) in Chad.
Jean Marie Takouleu