The Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF 2024) is being held in Nigeria this year. Nigeria is one of the countries on the African continent where the challenge of managing essential services remains immense, with 90 million people still without access to electricity. This situation, which is common to most African countries, will once again be the focus of discussions in Lagos from 21 to 23 May 2024.
How can investment in energy access in Africa be stimulated? This question will once again be on the agenda at the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF 2024), which opens on 21 May in Lagos, Nigeria. Organised this year under the patronage of Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the EAIF will bring together 1,000 delegates, including private and public investors, industry representatives and invited officials, to discuss investment opportunities in electrification in Africa.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), which is a partner in EAIF 2024, at least 600 million Africans still do not have access to electricity. Among the worst performers in this respect is Chad, with an estimated rate of just 6% by 2020. There is also the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where only 9% of the population has access to electricity, despite its immense natural resources.
Innovative solutions
But new players, such as Nuru, are raising hopes by introducing innovative solutions for electrifying the most remote localities in the DRC. In the city of Goma, for example, the company is installing metropolitan grids. This solution, based on hybrid solar power, is set to be extended to other localities in the east of the DRC, thanks to funding raised by Nuru in recent months.
Other African countries are also opting for off-grid solutions. This is the case in Nigeria, where 90 million people still have no access to electricity. As part of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) financed by the World Bank, REA is awarding performance-based subsidies to mini-grid companies that are jostling for position in rural areas.
In addition to these solutions, solar home systems will also be the focus of discussions between investors at EAIF 2024. The forum is organised by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) and co-hosted by the European Union (EU) Delegation to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The EAIF 2024 is supported by GET.invest, a programme to mobilise investment in renewable energy, the EU, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria.
For more information on EAIF 2024, click here.
Jean Marie Takouleu
