ISA & African Investment Platform to Pave Way for Financing Solar Projects in Africa

African infrastructure investment platform Africa50 and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) have entered into an agreement that will bolster and finance solar projects on the continent. The partnership has been forged with an ambition to augment solar capacity, increase energy access and facilitate energy transition.

Africa50 was established by African governments and the African Development Bank with a view to cement Africa’s infrastructure funding gap via project development, mobilizing public and private sector finance, and investing in infrastructure on the continent.

Speaking about the cooperation between India and Africa, Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General of International Solar Alliance said, “Together, ISA and Africa50 embody the potential to empower millions of individuals, ushering in a new era of sustainable prosperity. Expounding on the nuances of the collaboration.” He added, “This collaboration between ISA and Africa50 promises to power many households with clean and affordable energy necessary for progress in countries like Togo and the African continent at large. Together we hope to work on the provision of technical expertise to facilitate the development and execution of solar projects across African nations, joint mobilization of funds to co-finance solar initiatives within the region, leveraging ISA’s extensive network of Member Countries and partners, and Africa50’s access to robust capital markets. Focus will also be on raising public awareness and fortifying capacity-building endeavours for African solar power projects.”

Faure Gnassingbé, President of the Republic of Togo, stated on the occasion, “There are huge needs for infrastructure, without which development is not possible in Africa. This is at the heart of our roadmap. The involvement of the private sector in infrastructure is unavoidable and this means we must develop more bankable projects. Government involvement is also essential to attract foreign capital, and this is why it is important for governments to provide a stable, and transparent economic environment that is receptive to economic actors.”

Alain Ebobissé, the CEO at Africa50, remarked “Clean energy and a sustainable transition are core pillars of Africa50’s investment strategy. ISA and its network represent a wealth of knowledge and connectivity in the solar space that the African continent can benefit from. We are excited to work with ISA to identify, fund, and develop bankable solar projects in Africa which will support the continent’s transition to Net-zero.”

Back in March, International Solar Alliance and UNDP announced the launch of ISA’s first programme, Scaling Solar Applications for Agriculture Use (SSAAU), in ten African ISA Member Countries: Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Niger, Republic of Sudan, Senegal, South Sudan, Togo, Tuvalu, and Uganda. The programme is slated to be implemented over the next two years and will be financially supported with USD 2 million, which ISA and UNDP have jointly secured.

ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing. Previously, it has pooled demand for solar technology from different countries to drive down costs.