The African Development Bank (AfDB) has extended a $7 million grant from its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) to support expansion of renewable mini-grids in the continent in the form of the Africa Mini-Grid Market Acceleration Programme (AMAP).
This program is designed to lead to more than 80 MW of renewable energy generation along with providing 880,000 new electricity access connections to more than 4 million people. It is expected to create 7,200 full time jobs with 1,800 of these to be held by women. Other benefits this program is supposed to bring is facilitate an estimated $650 million of public and private investments in mini-grids.
AMAP will implement a new and standardized framework for national scale Mini-Grid Acceleration Programmes (MAP) in 4 unidentified nations while also designing and enhancing financial de-risking solutions. The platform will also provide support for knowledge sharing and skill development activities.
"Mini-grids are a fundamental but under-supported element of Africa's energy future. To achieve SDG 7, the UN's target for universal energy access, the sector must be radically scaled up, and to do this, a holistic and broad-spectrum support programme informed by industry needs is required to bring governments, investors, and of course the mini-grid sector the kind of support that can facilitate fast and efficient progress," said Africa Minigrid Developers Association, Aaron Leopold. "For these reasons, AMDA is excited to see AfDB working to bring mini-grid investments in Africa to the next level."
In March 2019, AfDB approved $20 million financing facility for solar PV based green mini-grid program in the Democratic Republic of Congo with SEFA shelling out a $1 million grant for PV mini-grid systems (see $20mn For Green Mini-Grid Program In African Nation).