Togo secures €4M financing from AfDB for rural electrification project

Energy

Wednesday, 21 December 2022 03:43

Togo secures €4M financing from AfDB for rural electrification project

(Togo First) - After the West African Development Bank (Banque Ouest Africaine de développement or BOAD), it is the turn of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to financially help Togo implement its project to electrify 317 communities with mini-solar grids. The lender announced on December 19, 2022, that it would back the project with €3.73 million (a little more than CFA2 billion).

The financing was approved by the African Development Fund’s board on December 15, 2022, in Abidjan. It includes a loan of €2.73 million at a preferential rate from the AfDB and a $1 million grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).

The facility, according to AfDB, will finance the preparatory phase of the electrification project. Concretely, Togolese authorities will set up mini-grid companies in which the State will inject equity.

Commenting on the provision, Robil Nassoma, director-general of the Togolese Agency for Rural Electrification and Renewable Energies (AT2ER), said it is “a catalyst for private sector financing to make electricity available in the target areas across Togo’s five regions.”

For Daniel Schroth, head of AfDB’s renewable energy and energy efficiency department, the group, through the facility, supports Togo’s vision to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030.

“This project will spur economic growth and reduce negative environmental impact by increasing renewable energy in Togo by catalyzing private sector investment in access to clean, sustainable energy for underserved rural populations in Togo,” he noted.

Esaïe Edoh

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