Nigeria: African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa approves $500,000 grant for clean energy

The SEFA grant will support specific workstreams to set NEAF in motion and enhance its engagement with private and public sector investors. NEAF will be a first-of-its-kind facility to provide eligible projects and businesses with equity solutions that are currently unavailable in the market.

“Nigeria requires bespoke and innovative market-based solutions to provide its off-grid population, estimated at 100 million, access to sustainable sources of energy. The SEFA grant will be instrumental in the constitution of NEAF, and ultimately, the mobilization of much-needed private sector investment for the sector”, said Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s Acting Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth.

Once operational, NEAF is expected to complement the Bank’s wide range of sustainable energy initiatives currently being implemented in Nigeria. In November 2018, the Board of Directors of the Bank approved a $ 200 million (https://bit.ly/2m0RRjH) package to support the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), designed to help scale-up green mini-grid solutions with subsidies, among other measures.

In May 2018, SEFA approved a $ 1.5 million (https://bit.ly/2kK1fYN) grant to support the first phase of the Nigerian government’s Jigawa 1-GW Independent Power Producer Solar Procurement Program.

SEFA’s support to NEAF is aligned with the New Deal on Energy for Africa and the Bank’s High 5 priorities, especially ‘Light Up and Power Africa’ and ‘Improve the Quality of Lives of Africans.’ The project conforms with the Bank’s Energy Sector Strategy and will boost the Nigerian government’s power sector recovery plans.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).

Media Contact: Emeka Johnkingsley Anuforo Communication and External Relations Department African Development Bank Email: e.anuforo@afdb.org

About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) (ww.AfDB.org) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 37 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states.

For more information: ww.AfDB.org

About the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA): Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) (https://bit.ly/2Kfv77) is a multi-donor facility established to unlock private sector investments in small to medium-sized clean energy projects in Africa through three components: (i) grants to facilitate the preparation of renewable energy generation and energy efficiency projects towards bankability (ii) equity investments to bridge the financing gap for renewable energy generation projects and; (iii) support to public sector in improving the enabling environment for private investments in sustainable energy. SEFA is endowed with contributions from the Governments of Denmark, United States and the United Kingdom, and is hosted and managed by the Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth Department of the African Development Bank.