African Development Bank’s SEFA Approves $5 Million in Grants to Build Super Energy Service Companies in Three Countries | African Development Bank

The African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has approved a $5.03 million technical assistance grant to implement the Africa Super Energy Service Companies (ESCO) acceleration program in Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa .

SEFA is a bank-managed, multi-donor special fund that works to unlock private sector investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Super ESCOs are instruments that funnel resources into energy efficiency investments in the public sector, such as hospitals, schools and street lighting, paving the way for private investment. The acceleration program catalyzes private sector investment in energy efficiency by operationalizing Super ESCOs to drive the transition to more sustainable and green economies.

The grant supports the training of a team to operate Super ESCOs and supports private ESCOs in the three countries in developing their energy performance contracting services. Private ESCOs provide services to energy users to design and implement energy efficiency options. The funding also supports the development of harmonized regional certification schemes for ESCOs and energy services professionals, including energy auditors, managers and energy savings measurement and verification professionals.

“This innovative program will enable Senegal to establish its Super ESCO and drive the energy efficiency market for better energy performance in the public and private sectors,” said Mr. Saer Diop, Senegal’s Director General Agency for the Economy and Control of Energy (AEME), which promotes energy efficiency.

Mohamed Chérif, Country Manager of the African Development Bank Senegal, said: “Super ESCOs are an efficient tool that governments can use to leverage private sector resources to improve the energy efficiency of public utilities and other key energy-using sectors. I am pleased that Senegal will be one of the first countries to benefit from the Africa Super Energy Service Companies Acceleration Program.”

The acceleration program paves the way for successful implementation of downstream energy efficiency investment programs in which the African Development Bank, the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and other stakeholders will invest.

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.