Supporting Renewable Energy in Africa - Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI)

This grant for International Finance Corporation Advisory Services aims to maximize the developmental impact of this initiative by exploring bankable investments in off-grid solutions in rural areas. This initiative better integrates gender equality considerations and provides advisory services for results measurement work for distributed generation (DG) projects. Project activities include: (1) advisory services for Energy Access to address the barriers that prevent the adoption of off-grid and mini-grid business models and unlock investment opportunities; (2) advisory Services in Gender aimed at closing gender gaps in employment and assets in the energy sector in the Sub-Saharan Africa region across the value chain; and (3) beneficiaries assessment for the distributed generation (DG) projects funded by the Blended Finance Program.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) accelerated growth of market for quality verified renewable energy products and systems; (2) increased number of mini-grid renewable energy projects implemented with private sector participation that provide enhanced energy access to beneficiaries including for productive use; and (3) enhanced gender equality in the renewable energy sector through private sector interventions that reduce gender gaps.