A Facility to Develop Innovative Projects in Renewable Energy and Boost Electrification on the African Continent 

To support renewable energy projects in Africa, the AFD Group, with the support of the European Union, has set-up the Africa Renewable Energy Scale-Up Facility   aimed at sustaining the growth of the off-grid private sector in Africa. The facility has been designed to rally  both public and private stakeholders, as it is composed of:

• a Technical Assistance component, managed by AFD to strengthen regulatory and institutional frameworks in the countries concerned and to prepare financing of private or public sector renewable energy initiatives in Africa.
• a Guarantee Facility managed by Proparco to support investment in off-grid, mini-grid and decentralised power industry players.

Over the next 5 years, Proparco will provide equity or quasi-equity funding for between 5 and 10 African businesses with innovative, high-potential projects. While priority will be given to solar energy projects, other technologies (biomass, mini-hydro, etc.) will also be considered.

Companies eligible to PROPARCO’s investment should:

• Have a proven business model (with strong potential for breakeven within 3 years), an experienced management team, anchor investors and be active in Africa;  
• Implement projects which provide access to electricity or produce decentralized power generation using small scale renewable energy;
• be in an active commercial phase (ability to scale up beyond the pilot phase, proven technology, and significant customer base);

Contacts:

• Kofi Nketsia-Tabiri : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  
• Noara Kebir : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Donors: Department for International Development (DFID), German Development Bank (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) (KfW), International Finance Corporation (IFC), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)

Donor Countries: Germany, Multi-donor, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom

Description: Through a group of subsidiary companies, PIDG offers specialized financing and project development expertise. Each company can customize the right solution for each set of circumstances. Together, these companies are designed to get infrastructure initiatives off the ground in countries which find investment hard to attract.

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

On- or Off-Grid: Not Specified

Geography: Sub Saharan Africa

Eligibility: Lower income countries of the Development Assistance Committee's List of Overseas Development Aid recipients

More info:

      Visit Website >>

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Donors: Department for International Development (DFID), Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Donor Countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Description: SCAF co-finances – with private equity and venture capital fund managers, and project development companies – the development of new investment vehicles and, once operational, the origination, development and seed financing of early-stage, low-carbon projects.

Location: Sub Saharan Africa

On- or Off-Grid: Not Specified

Geography: Sub Saharan Africa

Eligibility: Eligible partners include low-carbon focused private equity and venture capital funds, as well as certain types of project development companies

More info:

      Visit Website >>

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Donor: Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (NORFUND)

Donor Countries: Norway

Description: Equity, risk capital and loans for commercial companies.

Locations: East Africa Region, Southern Africa Region

On- or Off-Grid: Not Specified

Geography: Southern and Eastern Africa

Eligibility: Norfund always invests jointly with partners, both Norwegian and non-Norwegian, in clean energy, financial institutions and agribusiness, in addition to small and medium sized companies through investment funds.

More info:

      Visit Website >>

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Donor: African Development Bank (AfDB)

Donor Countries: Cote d'Ivoire

Description: Direct equity investments for private companies, project developers, investors, & private equity funds.

Locations: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sub Saharan Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

On- or Off-Grid: Both

Geography: AfDB Regional Member Countries

Eligibility: Applications approved at the discretion of the AfDB

More info:

      Visit Website >>

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

FMO is the Dutch development bank. It is our mission to empower entrepreneurs to build a better world. We invest in over 85 countries, supporting jobs and income generation in order to improve people's lives in the parts of the world where we can make the biggest difference.

Energy

FMO finances long-term projects which power economies, promote the transition to a low-carbon system and safeguard energy security.

Power shortages are one of the biggest barriers to development. FMO finances energy projects that not only power economies but also promote the transition to a low-carbon system.

Access to Energy Fund

The Access to Energy Fund is jointly initiated by the Dutch government and FMO in 2007 to support private sector projects aimed at providing long-term access to energy services in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The fund can either directly invest in or lend to a project or motivate a wider range of investor interest. The funding possibilities include:

• Minority shares in equity investments
• Loans of up to € 7 million – in euros, US$ or local currencies
• Early stage equity to contribute to the high-risk, early stage project development phase

Infrastructure Development Fund

The Infrastructure Development Fund (IDF) was established in 2002 by the Dutch government and FMO to support private investments in infrastructure. These basic services often lead to direct and immediate improvements in people’s quality of life. Infrastructure is also a means to fulfill wider objectives such as growth, employment, empowerment and poverty reduction.

IDF financing is available for:

• Long-term financing for large infrastructure projects
• Loans of up to €10 million – in euros, US$ or local currencies
• Minority shares in equity investments
• Investments in dedicated infrastructure investment funds
• Early stage equity for new project development.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Energy
• Access to Energy Fund
• Infrastructure Development Fund

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Swedfund is the Development Finance Institution of the Swedish state. Our goal is to eliminate poverty by creating sustainable business in some of the world’s toughest and most promising growth markets.

Complex investments are part of our everyday work. We offer risk capital and support for business establishment in growth markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Risk capital

We offer partnerships as well as partial financing, mainly through equity and loans. We share the risk but each partner takes full responsibility for the establishment and running of the business. Please do not hesitate to get in touch for an initial discussion.

Financial support via Swedpartnership 

Our financing program, Swedpartnership, supports small and medium-sized Swedish companies to enable collaboration with companies in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Our support makes it possible to allocate resources necessary to build stable, long-term and fruitful relations.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

InfraCo Africa seeks to alleviate poverty by mobilising investment into sub-Saharan infrastructure projects. We do this by funding teams of experienced project developers or by investing directly into projects which need the financial commitment and leverage that InfraCo Africa can bring. Our support reduces the risks and costs associated with early stage project development, ensuring that a project develops from concept to bankable investment opportunity.

Helping to develop your projects

We are always keen to hear about new opportunities that fit within our mandate, have a positive developmental impact on communities and require our support to succeed. We can help by providing funding and oversight directly to your project or otherwise by providing experienced resource through our developers. If you have a project that you think could benefit from additional funding and expertise then please review our investment criteria and process and, if eligible, apply.

Getting us involved

We are currently looking for new projects to invest into and support through early-stage development. Projects must:

• be within sub-Saharan Africa;
• be within power, water or transport sectors;
• have the potential to be commercially viable (with our support);
• have a positive developmental impact on the communities they serve;
• need InfraCo Africa to bring something additional, something that no other party can bring to the project; and
• be developed in accordance with our Operating Policies and Procedures.

Our mandate is to mobilise and not displace private sector investment so we will not get involved in a project if it could attract all of the financing it requires from other private or DFI investors.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Eligible countries
• Apply for funding
• Download Brochure

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

AFC’s mission is to help address Africa’s infrastructure development needs while seeking a competitive return on capital for its shareholders. Since it began operations in 2007, AFC has created the building blocks with which to achieve this objective.

We therefore fill key market gaps by participating across the entire project cycle and capital structure, ensuring that projects are well structured and transactions reach financial close.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

REPP works to mobilise private sector development activity – and investment – in small to medium-sized projects (typically up to 25MW), and is supported with £48m ($67m) initial funding from the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the International Climate Finance initiative.

The original concept for the programme was developed by UN Environment and the European Investment Bank in response to the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

REPP's products and support

Development phase capital and support

• REPP provides loans for selected third party development expenses, such as feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments, legal advice etc. The programme also offers developers general project guidance and support.

Access to risk mitigation instruments

• Instruments are provided by REPP’s partners with the programme’s assistance and coordination, and focus on risks that cannot be cost-effectively managed by the private sector, especially political, regulatory and offtaker risks. REPP also works to reduce risk in the long-term by collaborating with governments on regulatory improvement and demonstrating how regulatory stability can attract more investment leading to greater social benefit.

Gap financing

• REPP helps to bring projects to financial close using a range of financing structures, including bridge financing, construction loans, equity and equity conversion options, results-based financing, results-based loans for mini-grid rollout, subordinated debt, trade finance for SHS, and working capital loans.

Access to long-term lending

• The REPP team uses its wealth of experience and contacts in renewable energy finance across Africa to help projects to structure their funding in the right way, and to secure finance from REPP partners and other financial institutions, both private and public. REPP also encourages debt and risk mitigation instrument providers to coordinate their approval and due diligence requirements to simplify the process for developers.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Eligible countries
• Apply
• Download Brochure

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Advised by the European Investment Bank Group, GEEREF is an innovative Fund-of-Funds catalysing private sector capital into clean energy projects in developing countries and economies in transition.

GEEREF is uniquely positioned to leverage this opportunity, building on the European Investment Bank Group's institutional expertise in clean energy infrastructure investments and private equity globally.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

The Electrification Financing Initiative (ElectriFI) is a flexible financial facility funded by the European Commission and managed by the Association of European Development Finance Institutions (EDFI).

ElectriFI aims to support investments that increase and/or improve access to modern, affordable and sustainable energy services. The projects must lead to new and improved connections for populations living principally in rural, under-served areas as well as regions affected by unreliable power supply in developing countries.

Through its investments, ElectriFI promotes the adoption of renewable energy, with a particular emphasis on decentralized energy solutions.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Quickscan
• Eligible Countries
• Submit Application

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

In 2014 Oikocredit established a renewable energy unit in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. In close cooperation with Oikocredit’s network of offices around the globe, the renewable energy unit identifies and develops investment opportunities in renewable and energy efficiency projects in low-income countries. The unit provides financing for solar, wind, small hydropower, biomass and energy-efficiency projects.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Loans
• Equity

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

The world has made progress in increased energy for all over the last decade; however, the poor continue to be especially vulnerable economically, health-wise, and environmentally. Today, 1.06 billion people, or 13% of the world’s population, are living without it. Our companies—which are innovators in hand-held solar products, distributed power, clean cookstoves, and more— are changing this.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

WHAT WE LOOK FOR

Our portfolio companies may be based anywhere, but must have significant activity on the ground in Sub-Saharan Africa and must contribute to our important impact objective – bringing reliable electricity or its benefits to at least a million low-income people in rural and peri-urban areas.

We seek companies with technology or solutions that place them on the energy-access value-chain. This includes, but is by no means limited to, companies involved in solar home systems, mini-grids – both off-grid and grid-extensions – distribution of electricity access products, data management and novel financing techniques. EAV is technology agnostic and considers a wide array of energy sources and technologies (hydro, biomass, solar, wind, thermal, etc).

THE COMPANIES WE INVEST IN

• PayGo Energy
• SunCulture
• Inspirafarms
• d-Light
• PEG
• Off grid electric

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Fund Snapshot

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Blue Haven Initiative is an innovative family office dedicated to putting wealth to work for competitive returns and positive social and environmental change. Investing with high standards to maximize financial performance and public benefit, it manages a diversified investment portfolio across asset classes, from public equities and fixed-income holdings to private equity and direct investments.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Submit Investment Proposal

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Treehouse Investments, is a privately owned investment fund dedicated to supporting long-term sustainable and scalable solutions that address some of the most critical global challenges.

We believe that the private sector is essential to addressing the pressing unmet market needs created by climate change, gender inequality, and uneven access to capital.  At Treehouse Investments we recognize that supporting transformational business models and strategies not only benefits the planet and us as its inhabitants, but also represents a significant market opportunity.  We expect that over the long term our investment approach will outperform those that focus on financial returns alone.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

DOB Equity is a family backed impact fund investing in socially responsible businesses across sectors in East Africa.

From the late nineties the family started pursuing social activities globally with a mission to combine entrepreneurship with impact, the foundation for what DOB is doing now. Over the years we have focused our strategy on investing equity in scalable and innovative companies that have the potential to impact the lives of low and middle income communities in East Africa.

Know more:

• Visit Website

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Village Capital finds, trains, and invests in entrepreneurs solving real-world problems. We build communities around entrepreneurs and their ventures to improve opportunities for growth and success.

The African continent is on the move. Africa is urbanizing, with 50% of Africans projected to live in cities by 2030. The continent will be disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change, resulting in unprecedented challenges of drought, disease, and food insecurity. And individuals, empowered through access to healthcare, education, and technology, are demanding government transparency like never before. African entrepreneurs have the opportunity to leverage these trends to solve major challenges across the continent.

Our world’s need for energy is one of the largest drivers of environmental and social pressures, including climate change, land and water use, social inclusion, and economic prosperity. Village Capital is supporting a sustainable energy transformation, where the world powers itself and makes tangible products from renewable and low-carbon sources. We invest in companies that solve energy challenges.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Energy

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.

Global Partnerships is an impact-first investor dedicated to expanding opportunity for people living in poverty. We make loans and early stage investments in social enterprises that deliver market-based products and services that empower people to earn a living and improve their lives.

Social Venture Fund (SVF)

The Global Partnerships/Eleos Social Venture Fund (SVF) is an impact-first fund investing in early-stage social enterprises to expand opportunity for people living in poverty in Eastern Africa. The fund was created to address the “pioneer gap” by supporting early stage social enterprises with a combination of investment capital and Board-level advisory support.

Social Investment Funds (SIF)

Global Partnerships’ Social Investment Funds make loans to social businesses such as microfinance institutions, agricultural cooperatives, and solar light manufacturers that provide people living in poverty with essential products and services.

Know more:

• Visit Website
• Social Venture Fund (SVF)
• Social Investment Funds (SIF)

If you need support please contact us through This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Feel free to pass this information to interested parties.