The Government of Haiti and the World Bank have set up a $17.22 million Off-Grid Electricity Fund (OGEF) to fund renewable energy access in Haiti. The fund will invest debt and equity in companies that provide renewable off-grid energy access solutions to the locals with solutions ranging from mini-grids to pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar products.

Under the umbrella of OGEF, the target is to provide electricity to 200,000 Haitian households within the next decade. Additionally, there are plans to raise further capital.

Impact investing platform Bamboo Capital Partners says it has been appointed as the international fund manager for OGEF. It will partner with the Haitian Development Finance Institution Fonds de Développement Industriel (FDI). OGEF is supported by the World Bank and funded by the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Scaling up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) in low income countries.

“Access to clean and modern energy to all Haitians, particularly those living in remote areas with no experience of electricity, is one of the main objectives of the government. The government also understands that access to sustainable financing is a major constraint to privately led initiatives aiming at contributing to achieving this objective. OGEF has been established to address this specific barrier,” said Nicolas Allien, SREP and CTF Project Coordinator at Energy Cell of the Ministry of Public Works Transportation and Communications of Haiti.

Less than 1 in 3 households has access to electricity in Haiti. Electrification rates in rural areas are as low as 5%. Through the fund, the government and the bank aim to transform and transition the fossil-fuel dependent energy system of the country towards a modern and sustainable solution.