Project profile — Supporting Renewable Energy in Africa - Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI)

• Africa, regional (100.00%)

• Energy Generation, Renewable Resources: Energy generation, renewable sources - multiple technologies (23210) (100.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (significant objective)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (principal objective)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (significant objective)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This grant for International Finance Corporation Advisory Services aims to maximize the developmental impact of this initiative by exploring bankable investments in off-grid solutions in rural areas. This initiative better integrates gender equality considerations and provides advisory services for results measurement work for distributed generation (DG) projects. Project activities include: (1) advisory services for Energy Access to address the barriers that prevent the adoption of off-grid and mini-grid business models and unlock investment opportunities; (2) advisory Services in Gender, aimed at closing gender gaps in employment and assets in the energy sector in the Sub-Saharan Africa region across the value chain; and (3) beneficiaries assessment for the distributed generation (DG) projects funded by the Blended Finance Program.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) accelerated growth of market for quality verified renewable energy products and systems; (2) increased number of mini-grid renewable energy projects implemented with private sector participation that provide enhanced energy access to beneficiaries, including for productive use; and (3) enhanced gender equality in the renewable energy sector through private sector interventions that reduce gender gaps.

Results achieved as of (May 2021) include: (1) launched the “Energy2Equal program”, a four-year program that partners with approximately 15 private sector firms to expand women’s access to jobs, leadership positions, and entrepreneurial opportunities in corporate value chains within the renewable energy space; and (2) completed analytical studies for pilot projects in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria for the Scaling Mini-Grids program, which would enable the mobilization of grant and concessional capital towards making mini-grid projects bankable by addressing the following three key structural barriers: (1) commercial viability, (2) demand risk, and,(3) regulatory risk.

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• Related activities: Supporting Renewable Energy in Africa - Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI)