The management of some of the largest manufacturers of mini-grid solar systems plan to raise up to $46 billion for the electrification of 29 African countries under the World Bank program. This is reported in a press release from Husk Power Systems.
Program participants, including Husk Power Systems, expect to raise $28 billion through borrowed funds, $14 billion through investments, and $4.6 billion in grants and subsidies.
The development of technologies that can provide electricity to regions with insufficient electricity supply is a key factor in the Mission 300 program of the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
The program provides for the provision of electricity to 300 million residents by 2030, while 29 countries that have signed agreements with creditors consider mini-grids as a key solution for providing electricity to the population. To date, 22 program participants have built 392 mini-power grids in Africa and invested $310 million through the creation of funds and platforms to finance the program.
In particular, the sovereign wealth Fund of Nigeria and the World Bank agency have allocated $500 million for the renewable energy fund, which will invest in manufacturers of solar systems and mini-electric grids. At the same time, the pan-African infrastructure investor Africa50 is creating a $200 million investment fund in parallel with the creation of a $500 million fund in the Congo.
The African Development Bank, together with the World Bank, created the $1 billion Zafiri investment platform to expand access to electricity.
Solar mini-grid companies are companies developing solar mini—grid systems (decentralized electricity supply networks based on solar energy) that include small power generators and energy storage systems connected to a distribution network for a small localized group of customers, regardless of the national electricity grid.
