The Universal Energy Facility (UEF) – a multi-donor results-based financing facility managed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) – is signing several grant agreements with mini-grid companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar and Sierra Leone in the coming weeks. The grantees will receive financial support to build solar mini-grids in communities without access to clean energy and where other polluting energy sources, such as diesel and petrol generators, charcoal and firewood, are common. 

“Accelerating access to reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity to those most in need is the central focus of UEF and its partners,” said Anita Otubu, Senior Director of the UEF. “This is a big step and the first of many we need to take to continue improving people’s lives in Africa. Access to clean energy is a life-changing step that leads to economic growth, empowering women, reducing C02 emissions, and creating jobs - among other benefits.” 

The USD 10.4 million of additional funding is for 17,628 connections distributed among six companies, benefiting an estimated 88,000 people in 29 communities in the three countries. During the next 12 months, the beneficiaries will construct and commission 29 mini-grids with an estimated 3.7MW of renewable energy capacity installed, leading to an avoidance of approximately 1,800 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per year. 

“Once again, the UEF proves to be a rapid, cost-effective solution for accelerating the deployment of clean energy grants,” said Edward Borgstein, Managing Director at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), a UEF donor. “As a partner, having access to a robust and efficient mechanism to get funds to work is crucial as we seek to accelerate electricity access in some of the world’s most energy-poor locations.” 

Democratic Republic of the Congo 

Despite having an immense and varied energy potential from renewable resources including hydroelectric, biomass, solar and geothermal power; only 49 per cent of its 96 million people have access to electricity, most of them in urban centres, according to the World Bank. As a solution, and to support the government’s efforts to significantly increase power connections, the UEF launched its mini-grid programme in the DRC in October 2022.  

The UEF recently signed the first grant agreement for USD 3.8 million with Electrilac S.A.S, a subsidiary of Green Enesys, with the goal of providing 6,500 new electricity connections and installing 2.5MW of renewable energy capacity. These connections are expected to positively impact over 30,000 people, providing them with new or improved access to electricity. 

“The financial support from the UEF and partners is crucial to promoting a robust and dynamic energy market in the DRC. This will bring sustainable and reliable energy to underserved communities, delivering a catalytic impact in creating more and better jobs, new business opportunities, and in contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of the region,” said Ranjith Rao, Chief Business Development Officer, Green Enesys “We see this type of support as a win-win situation for our business, but also for the government and the people of the DRC.” 

Madagascar 

According to the World Bank, only 73 percent of the Malagasy population has access to electricity in urban areas and only 11 percent in rural areas.  

To support electrification efforts, the UEF opened its first funding window in 2020, signing grant agreements with two developers for nine mini-grid sites, resulting in 2,496 expected electricity connections. In its second wave of funding, the UEF is signing grant agreements with WeLight, ANKA, Autarsys and Jiro Taratra/Africa GreenTec, totaling USD 5.9 million for an additional 21 mini-grids. This will result in 9,935 new electricity connections and 0.99MW of renewable energy capacity installed. These connections are expected to impact nearly 50,000 people in regions with strong economic growth potential and in sectors such as agriculture and trade by providing new or improved access to electricity.  

"The Government of Madagascar is fully committed to identifying and implementing appropriate strategies to accelerate access to electricity for communities, particularly in rural areas, using appropriate and effective mechanisms,” said Mamisoa Rakotoarimanana, Executive Secretary, Agency for Rural Electrification Development.  “Initiatives such as the UEF are highly appreciated when it comes to identifying key partners to support our strategy while simultaneously delivering substantial results.” 

“At Africa GreenTec, we align our actions with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals,” said Moritz Brauchle, Managing Director, Africa GreenTec. “Therefore, we are grateful to have found a strong partner in UEF with whom we can jointly achieve our goal of sustainable impact through renewable energy solutions.” 

To date, the UEF mini-grid programme in Madagascar is the fastest growing and the largest beneficiary of UEF grants.   

Sierra Leone 

The Government of Sierra Leone is committed to significantly increasing the national electrification rate, aiming to reach 92 percent by 2030. This ambitious goal is a response to the current access rate of just 26 percent, which falls to 5 percent in rural areas. With these low electricity access rates, the government recognizes the urgent need to implement electrified mini-grid systems to bridge this gap. 

Since 2020, the UEF has committed over USD 2 million in grant agreements for the deployment of mini-grid projects in two different funding windows. The UEF plans to sign a USD 706,000 grant agreement with Energicity (SL) Limited to develop seven mini-grids. This project is expected to provide 1,193 electricity connections and 0.2MW of renewable energy capacity that will impact the lives of nearly 6,000 people. 

Additionally, the UEF has issued conditional offer letters to developers for the construction of more than 20 mini-grid sites, showing substantial progress in the application process in the DRC, Madagascar and Sierra Leone. After the successful completion of all the requirements, the UEF will potentially extend grant agreements in the coming months. 

More information on the UEF is available here.  

This year Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Having started as an initiative within the UN, our sphere of influence and impact on the global sustainable energy movement have evolved greatly over the past decade. 

Our 2022 work demonstrates our ability to build higher ambition, stronger policy and planning, and faster results, all of which are urgently needed to achieve affordable and clean energy for all by 2030 and net-zero emissions by mid-century. 

Of course, our work would not be possible without the support and collaboration of our many partners and funders, who we would like to thank for their commitment to helping us build a better future through sustainable energy. 

As the year comes to an end, now is a good time to look back at what we’ve achieved together. 

Higher ambition 

Our advocacy and diplomacy work aims to build high-level political support for energy access and transition around the world. In 2022, we enabled critical dialogues on energy among global leaders and secured significant new energy commitments from governments, companies, financiers, and others. 

SEforALL Forum 

Co-hosted with the Government of Rwanda, the Forum brought together the global energy, climate and development communities to learn, inspire and collaborate. Our partners used this global platform as an opportunity to launch new partnerships and commitments towards the energy transition. Collectively, they announced an impressive USD 347 million in commitments over the three days in Kigali, along with the launch of several important new initiatives, including Mission Efficiency, a global coalition dedicated to improving energy efficiency.  

Youth engagement at the Forum was extensive, with more than 300 youth bringing their voices to the various Forum sessions. Young people’s futures truly are at stake with the energy transition, so we make it a priority to support them in accessing today’s energy sector leaders. 

Ministerial Roundtables  

To foster collaboration among African countries in defining and advancing a just and equitable energy transition for Africa, we organized a Ministerial Roundtable at the Forum in Kigali. There, ten countries agreed on seven transformative actions towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7, outlining them in the Kigali Communique, which signals to the global community where support is needed in Africa for energy access and transition efforts. 

As a next step towards garnering this support, we held similar roundtables on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and at COP27 in November. Importantly, the conversation at COP27 was organized as an Africa-Europe Ministerial Roundtable, which we hosted along with the Africa-Europe Foundation. African and European ministers listened to each other and strategized on how to accelerate Africa’s race towards a just and equitable energy transition while working together. 

There is now greater momentum for Europe to support Africa in achieving its energy goals, something that will be aided by establishing a “Africa-Europe Energy Leaders’ Group.” 

COP27 

The UN climate conference was also a major moment for us because of the SDG7 Pavilion, which we again hosted with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). For the second year in a row, the pavilion was the main hub at COP for discussing and showcasing how to unite global efforts on energy, climate and development, and it served as a platform for the launch of several exciting new initiatives. 

With GEAPP and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, we launched the ground-breaking Africa Carbon Markets Initiative at COP27, which aims to support the growth of voluntary carbon markets in Africa for financing clean energy access and transition. With Bloomberg Philanthropies, we also announced our partnership with the government of Ghana to develop an Energy Transition Plan that will provide a detailed, data-driven pathway for the country and its partners to achieve its energy and climate goals.