$1 Million: Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa grant to boost electric mobility shift in seven African countries | African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) will provide a $1 million grant for technical assistance to the Green Mobility Facility for Africa (GMFA).

GMFA provides technical assistance and investment capital to accelerate and expand private sector investment in sustainable transportation solutions in seven countries: Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone and South Africa.

The SEFA grant supports the creation of an enabling environment for electric vehicles (EVs), the design of EV business models and guidelines for the public and private sector, the development of a viable pipeline of e-mobility projects, regional coordination and knowledge share with other upstream activities to help catalyze follow-on private sector financing during the subsequent investment phase of the GMFA.

“Mobility is a fundamental lifeline that connects people to critical services, jobs, education and opportunities,” said Nnenna Nwabufo, the Director General of the Bank’s East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office. “The African Development Bank is committed to building a sustainable and more climate-resilient future by catalyzing private investment in low-carbon solutions. We believe GMFA will have a huge impact on the African market by accelerating the shift to green mobility, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2,175,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent and enabling the creation of 19,000 full-time jobs.”

“Future demand for mobility solutions and car ownership is expected to increase due to rapid urbanization, population growth and economic development. We are delighted with this support from AfDB. We see this as a vote of confidence in our efforts to move to e-mobility solutions and advance Rwanda’s transition to a low-carbon economy,” said Clare Akamanzi, Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board. Rwanda is one of the seven pilot countries for GMFA.

ABOUT SEFA

SEFA is a multi-donor dedicated fund that provides catalytic financing to unlock private sector investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency. SEFA provides technical assistance and concessional financing tools to remove market barriers, build a more robust pipeline of projects and improve the risk-return profile of individual investments. The overarching goal of the fund is to contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services for all in Africa, in line with the New Deal on Energy for Africa and Sustainable Development Goal 7.