The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD Group), at the Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), have announced their commitment to work together to mobilise up to $5 million of technical assistance to elevate the role of local financial institutions in accelerating clean energy access in Africa.
This collaboration will begin with a $1.3 million pilot envelope of technical assistance grants from GEAPP, to be complemented with lines of credit from AFD Group. It is expected that the joint investments (GEAPP and AFD Group) will direct both technical and financial support to private financial institutions and Public Development Banks (PDBs) in Africa.
Tribune Online reports that the initiative is a direct response to the growing momentum among partners supporting Mission 300, the World Bank and African development Bank’s landmark ambition, to deliver affordable and sustainable electricity to 300 million people in Africa by 2030 and builds a critical foundation for crowding-in funding, resources, and tools from public, private and philanthropic partners to scale up local and global cooperation.
The collaboration is the latest example of how the GEAPP alliance is pooling resources to support catalytic financing for projects that strengthen local financial systems.
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By enhancing the capacity of African financial institutions at both the regional and national levels, the window will help those institutions become more capitalised and better positioned to deploy long-term and stable resources that are essential for scaling transformative energy technologies.
These technologies, such as mini-grids, solar home systems, and grid upgrades, are pivotal in addressing the energy access gap across Africa.
Mission 300 aims to empower economic growth and deliver electricity access to some of Africa’s most vulnerable and hard-to-reach communities.
While technical solutions such as off-grid technologies and national grid extensions are available, the critical barrier remains a lack of sufficient financing to scale these solutions effectively.
Public and private financial institutions at the regional and national levels play a decisive role in unlocking these solutions, offering market-specific expertise, reducing exposure to foreign exchange volatility, and supporting innovative business models by providing much-needed capital and long-term resources.
The AFD and GEAPP initiative is directly address this financing gap by equipping those African financial institutions with the necessary technical, financial, legal, environmental, and social support to strengthen their financial readiness, improve portfolio screening, enhance due diligence capabilities, and support the analysis of portfolio emissions.
With these tools, PDBs will be better able to back bankable projects that generate sustainable development in the countries where they operate.
After announcing a €1bn commitment by 2030 in support of Mission 300 agenda in Dar es Salaam last month, this collaboration allows AFD Group to pursue its work in strengthening local financial systems while mobilizing key stakeholders on its side.
“Through national PDBs and local private banks, we have a unique opportunity to accelerate energy access in Africa by strengthening the capacity of local financial institutions to participate in the objectives of Mission 300.
“Our partnership with GEAPP and this new initiative, leveraging both philanthropic and institutional funding, proves that FiCS is an ideal platform to support cross-fertilizing partnerships between public development banks and other stakeholders committed to sustainable solutions,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AFD Group, Rémy Rioux said.
Also in his remarks, GEAPP’s CEO, Woochong Um, said “GEAPP is working with AFD Group to pool resources and invest in innovations that will help unlock more funding for Africa’s energy access projects.
“This is a demonstration of the power of radical collaboration to achieve the Mission 300 goal of connecting 300 million Africans by 2030 is driving us to uncover new solutions, extend the pipeline of commercially viable projects, and create jobs, skills, and better livelihoods in areas where electricity access remains a challenge.”
The collaboration between GEAPP and AFD Group highlights the strategic role that Africa’s public and private financial institutions play in advancing renewable energy access across the continent.
By leveraging local expertise, reducing foreign exchange exposure, and fostering innovation, this new collaboration aims to unlock significant financing for energy access solutions and contribute to achieving the broader goals of Mission 300, Agenda 2030, and SDG7.
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