The
Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development
Bank, has approved a $500,000 grant to support the development and launch of
the Nigeria Energy Access Fund (NEAF), a new private equity fund developed by
All On, a Nigerian impact investment firm financed by Shell.
According to its release, NEAF will make strategic investments in sustainable
energy in Nigeria, particularly in the country’s burgeoning off-grid and
mini-grid sectors.
The SEFA grant will support specific workstreams to set NEAF in motion and
enhance its engagement with private and public sector investors.
NEAF will be a first-of-its-kind facility to provide eligible projects and
businesses with equity solutions that are currently unavailable in the market.
Mr Wale Shonibare, the Bank’s Acting Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate
Change and Green Growth, said “Nigeria requires bespoke and innovative
market-based solutions to provide its off-grid population, estimated at 100
million, access to sustainable sources of energy. The SEFA grant will be
instrumental in the constitution of NEAF, and ultimately, the mobilization of
much-needed private sector investment for the sector”.
The release said once operational, NEAF was expected to complement the Bank’s
wide range of sustainable energy initiatives currently being implemented in
Nigeria.
In November 2018, the Board of Directors of the Bank approved a $200 million
package to support the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), designed to help
scale-up green mini-grid solutions with subsidies, among other measures.
In May 2018, SEFA approved a $1.5 million grant to support the first phase of
the Nigerian government’s Jigawa 1-GW Independent Power Producer Solar
Procurement Program.
SEFA’s support to NEAF is aligned with the New Deal on Energy for Africa and
the Bank’s High 5 priorities, especially ‘Light Up and Power Africa’ and
‘Improve the Quality of Lives of Africans.’ The project conforms with the
Bank’s Energy Sector Strategy and will boost the Nigerian government’s power
sector recovery plans.
GNA
