The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved the Leveraging Energy Access Financing Framework (LEAF) under which the Bank will commit up to US$ 164 million to promote decentralized renewable energy in six African countries, including Tunisia.
The US$800 million programme will help spur commercial and local currency investments to scale up the activities of decentralised renewable energy companies in Ghana, Guinea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tunisia, the AfDB said in a statement.
Under LEAF, some 18 decentralised renewable energy projects are expected to be financed, providing access to six million people and businesses, representing 28.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in greenhouse gas emission reductions over the lifetime of the systems.
The AfDB developed this LEAF programme in collaboration with the Green Climate Fund, which approved concessional financing of $170.9 million in July 2021. The framework is part of the Bank’s broader off-grid strategy under the New Deal on Energy for Africa and complements existing initiatives, such as the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.
Over six years, LEAF will deploy concessional financing, credit enhancement instruments and technical assistance to attract private sector investors, including local banks, to finance and accelerate efforts to power the continent.
Many countries in Africa still face challenges in achieving universal access to sustainable, clean, affordable and reliable electricity. According to the latest Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 tracking report, close to 600 million Africans lack access to electricity.
The number of people without access to electricity has increased again for the first time, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Scaling up decentralised renewable energy (solar home systems, green mini-grids, and solar solutions for commercial and industrial use) is crucial to achieving the SDG7 objectives and requires significant private sector and local currency financing.
