Source: Punch Newspaper
Japan has joined the ranks of donors to the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), becoming the latest contributor and expanding the fund’s donor network to 11. This move significantly enhances SEFA’s capacity to support vital energy projects across Africa.
The announcement was made during a thematic boardroom session dedicated to exploring innovative funding mechanisms to accelerate Africa’s energy transition. At the event, SEFA also unveiled the Understanding Power Project Financing Handbook, a comprehensive resource designed to simplify the intricacies of power project financing and introduce emerging financial solutions.
Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate Change, and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, underscored the critical need for innovative financing to bridge Africa’s energy access gap. He noted that SEFA, now bolstered by Japan’s participation, is well-equipped to unlock the potential of clean energy and provide millions of Africans with sustainable energy solutions.
Richard Nelson, Coordinator for Power Africa, emphasized the significance of connecting investors and developers with bankable, shovel-ready energy projects. He highlighted this as a crucial step toward realizing Africa’s vast energy potential and driving economic growth across the continent.
Meredith Muthoni, Head of Electric Finance at BURN, addressed the broader benefits of clean cooking solutions, noting that they contribute not only to energy access but also to health and environmental protection. Through its partnership with SEFA, BURN is scaling up affordable electric cooking solutions by leveraging blended finance models to close funding gaps and attract private investment into carbon pre-finance initiatives.
The session featured two pivotal panel discussions. The first panel focused on scaling blended finance for Africa’s energy transition, delving into innovative financial strategies to enhance project bankability. The second panel spotlighted investment-ready opportunities from SEFA’s project pipeline, presenting examples across various sectors that demonstrate the effectiveness of the fund’s blended finance approach.
With Japan’s support, SEFA is now even better positioned to address Africa’s pressing energy challenges and advance the continent’s clean energy aspirations.
