With 650 million Africans still without access to electricity, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is teaming up with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to address Africa’s energy sector financing. This will take place on August 22, 2022, during a virtual meeting attended by several private-sector actors from the continent.
“How can development institutions and the private sector better finance energy deficit mitigation on the continent?” This is the big question that will be discussed at a virtual forum to be held on August 22, 2022. The meeting, jointly organized by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will mobilize several experts, particularly in the fields of green finance, climate and energy.
On the agenda will be the financing of hydrogen and renewable energy as well as the role of energy efficiency in achieving the net zero target. These topics will be discussed at a time when the war in Ukraine is undermining global energy security. In this context, Kevin Kariuki, AfDB Vice President in charge of Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, will review the strategy of his financial institution in Africa.
According to the AfDB, the resolutions of this meeting will be presented at the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad 8), which takes place on August 27, 2022, in Tunis, the Tunisian capital.
Accelerating access to clean energy through climate finance
Despite the financial constraints slowing down Africa’s electrification, the continent is pursuing its energy transition through several initiatives implemented by development partners. For example, the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID), the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SEforALL) recently signed an agreement to accelerate access to renewable energy in Africa. The Financial Innovation Centre, which is due to be launched in November 2022 at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, will identify, unlock, de-risk and scale up private sector investment in electricity access.
