Consultant Sought For Africa’s 10 GW Solar PV Plan

• AfDB is looking for Financial Management Specialists to come on board for the DtP initiative
• The winning consultant will be responsible for all financial planning and budgeting of the 2 components of the project
• These 2 components relate to addressing financial barriers and providing technical assistance, along with mobilizing private sector investment

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has invited expressions of interest (EOI) seeking Financial Management Specialist to support its ambitious Desert-to-Power (DtP) plan under which it targets to install 10 GW solar PV capacity in Africa's Sahel region.

Through the DtP initiative, AfDB aims to harness the solar potential of 11 Sahel nations by 2030. This 10 GW capacity is expected to provide clean electricity access to around 250 million people through a combination of on-grid and off-grid solutions.

Under phase I, the program targets to cover Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.

Implementing agency of the program, the Ecowas Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) seeks a Financial Management Specialist for the project implementation unit (PIU) to cover 2 components out of 5 that the DtP is divided into.

Component I is phase I of the West Africa Regional Energy Program (WAREP). This aims to address financial barriers to private sector-led distributed power generation and mini-grid development. It will also look into providing technical assistance for on-grid and off-grid solar projects.

The other component is the Regional Technical Assistance Program for the Sahel (ReTAPS). This will help provide technical assistance to the phase I nations with regard to creating an enabling environment for solar power projects. It will also help unlock private sector investments.

The winning candidate of this tender will lead the project in terms of budgeting, finance, and will have the ultimate responsibility for the preparation of quarterly interim unaudited financial reports and annual projects financial statements, among other tasks.

The last date to submit applications to this EOI round launched on May 22, 2024 is June 19, 2024. Details of the tender are available on AfDB's website.