A partnership between the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, and The Rockefeller Foundation is teaming up to mobilise up to $2 billion of private sector investment in distributed renewable energy in Nigeria and other African countries.
The collaboration which is part of both organizations’ commitment to ending energy poverty and delivering reliable, sustainable power to millions across the world will leverage primarily on IFC’s expertise in creating markets and pipeline development in developing countries to increase the scale of private investments into distributed renewable energy.
The partners will start with the rapid deployment of $30 million in blended concessional finance and grant capital towards an active pipeline of projects developed by IFC.
These include IFC’s prototype scaling mini-grid programme, as well as distributed renewable energy generation, battery energy storage and other innovative clean energy technologies.
The above components are part of IFC’s Upstream practice, which aims to create markets in the most challenging environments and lays the foundation for future investment projects.
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“The work includes technical assistance, targeted feasibility studies, and cost-sharing support to private sector clients and governments,” IFC said in a document.
The Rockefeller Foundation, a globally renowned philanthropic organization with a decade of expertise in the distributed renewable energy sector is also expected to contribute up to $150 million of catalytic capital to be deployed in blended finance with the aim of unlocking private investment.
The Foundation and IFC said they will initially prioritise countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70percent of households are not electrified.
“Investing in renewable energy infrastructure in communities that have not had access to reliable power will ensure that the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis is both green and equitable,” said Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv Shah.
Shah added, “the best partnerships are informed by a common goal and an experience of learning together so by combining the expertise and resources of The Rockefeller Foundation with the global footprint of the IFC, we are demonstrating the power of partnerships to deliver real impact.”
The announcement cites data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), according to which the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt progress on energy access, with the number of people lacking electricity in Africa rising by 13 million to more than 590 million in 2020 from the previous year.
“The twin goals of improving energy access and addressing climate change both require our urgent attention but can’t be achieved with public resources alone. The private sector can and must be part of the solution if the scale of our results is to meet the scale of our ambitions,” IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop said.
Diop continued, “this partnership could not be better aligned with our business, our priorities, or our shared values as we work to build a sustainable recovery. In the months and years ahead, there is terrific opportunity to make positive change together and I am thrilled to be part of this inaugural step.”
