The German government will contribute €100-million to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB's) Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (Sefa), affirming its commitment to efforts to tap Africa’s renewable energy potential and drive its transition to clean energy sources.
The funding will be used to unlock private sector investment in green baseload projects. Specifically, it will support technical assistance and investment in power generation, transmission and distribution to increase penetration of renewable power in African grids.
The funding follows Germany’s initial €50-million contribution to Sefa in 2020.
“We need to accelerate the global energy transition. This requires the rapid phasing out of all fossil fuels and a massive expansion of renewable energy. The time to act is now,” says Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Norbert Barthle.
“Germany’s new contribution is a major boost towards Sefa’s capitalisation target of $500-million.
"It is also recognition of the catalytic role Sefa has been playing in accelerating Africa’s energy transition and supporting clean energy access solutions,” adds AfDB renewable energy and energy efficiency acting director Dr Daniel Schroth.