SEforALL Africa Hub to provide technical assistance to Green Mini-Grids developers
13 May 2016
The SEforALL Africa Hub is implementing the Green Mini-Grids Market Development Programme (GMG MDP) to facilitate across Africa the creation of a GMG sector and enabling environment.
The GMG MDP is funded through the AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), with targeted funding provided by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID). To achieve universal access to modern energy, Africa will require substantial investments into national power grids, off-grid solar systems, and isolated mini grids.
The GMG MDP, in collaboration with a consortium including Carbon Trust, UNEP and ECREEE, is currently collecting and compiling mini grid market intelligence specific to Mozambique, Ethiopia and the DRC, with Burkina Faso and Mali in the pipeline for the 4th quarter 2016 using a new approach. The Programme has signed a service contract with a consortium of Impact4Energy (formerly GVEP) and INENSUS GmbH to develop knowledge products, tutorials and provide technical assistance to GMG project developers (include link to press release). These business development services will assist developers with a wide range of issues – from business planning, market development and grid design to project finance, grid operation and maintenance - and will be accessed through a web-based GMG help desk, which will go online this month of September 2016.
The GMG MDP is developing a pan-African GMG strategy, to be adopted by the Africa Union’s Energy Ministers at their next meeting. The GMG MDP with support of Innovation Energie Développement (IED) is also carrying out a supply and demand side scoping of financial instruments and financing needs that will contribute to the design of specific financial products to support mini grid developers.
