AfDB, ALSF lead call for an electrified Africa at Copenhagen energy forum

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, 19 June 2017- The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are leading renewed calls for global investment towards an electrified Africa.

They made the call at the 19th Africa Energy Forum concluded recently in Copenhagen, Denmark, 7-9 June.

“We are all looking at the same pipelines throughout the continent. As a result, there exist obvious areas of cooperation,” said Joao Cunha, AfDB’s Chief Climate Finance Officer

The Africa Energy Forum (AEF) is the global investment meeting for Africa’s power, energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors and serves as a verifiable platform to form partnerships, identify opportunities and collectively move the industry forward.

AfDB and ALSF participated alongside some 2,000 African regulators, ministerial officials, and private sector experts.

The Forum featured an AfDB-sponsored brainstorming session, entitled ‘Partnering towards Financial Close.’  The session had in attendance representatives of various project preparation facilities (PPFs) to explore how best to improve their cooperation.

The meeting gathered representatives from the AfDB, ALSF, the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), the United States Trade and Development Agenda, the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation, and ElectriFI.

These organizations will raise approximately US$ 500-800 million, separately, for development projects which address overlapping challenges. The intersecting mandates of the seven participating organizations underscores the need to efficiently deploy their funds and to avoid the unnecessary duplication of efforts.

“If we want to scale-up our partnership, we have to develop shared messages when speaking to stakeholders, clients, and investors,” explained Martin Hiller of REEEP and the Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN).

At the end of the forum, participants resolved to maintain an informal network through which, they will organize regular meetings, develop harmonized calls for proposals, and conduct joint advocacy activities.

Some 450 million citizens living in Africa lack reliable power. However, through events like the Africa Energy Forum, initiatives such as the New Deal on Energy for Africa, and bilateral talks such as those held by the AfDB’s Delegation and the ALSF, there is hope to the  Light Up and Power Africa by 2025 agenda championed by AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina.

The African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) is hosted by the African Development Bank Group.