Promotion of Clean Energy Financing in West Africa.

On December 12th, 2012, The ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and Nexant, Inc., implementing Regional Clean Energy Investment Initiative (RCEII), a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) program, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) for the Promotion of Clean Energy Financing in West Africa. 

The MOC was signed by Mr. Mahama Kappiah, Executive Director of ECREEE and Dr. Peter du Pont, VP of USAID’s implementing partner for RCEII, Nexant. The scope of the cooperation will include:

• Creating a regional base of support for Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) in West Africa, both parties to the MOC are committed to contribute to the development of a PFAN network of partners and interested stakeholders;
• Supporting the development of a pipeline of clean energy projects for consideration by investors in the West Africa region through a Call for Proposals for clean energy projects in West Africa;
• Organizing, promoting and hosting the West African Forum for Clean Energy Financing (WAFCEF) in October 2013 in Accra, Ghana, where projects selected from the Call for Proposals will be presented by their respective developers to investors and financiers;
• Mentoring selected projects by offering pre-WAFCEF introduction to investors, and post-WAFCEF deal-flow sessions. Selected projects will be offered technical assistance to develop financially viable Business Plans and to present them at the WAFCEF;
• Promoting discussions on clean energy policy and knowledge-sharing.

The ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) is a specialized agency of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which acts as an independent body, within the legal, administrative and financial framework of ECOWAS rules and regulations. The overall objective of ECREEE is to contribute to the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of West Africa by improving access to modern, reliable and affordable energy services, energy security and reduction of energy related GHG emissions and climate change impacts on the energy system. The specific objective of ECREEE is to create favorable framework conditions and an enabling environment for renewable energy and energy efficiency markets by supporting activities directed at mitigate existing barriers. ECREEE's Secretariat is located in Praia, Cape Verde.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports programs that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve multiple national development objectives, including enhancing energy security, increasing industrial competitiveness, expanding private sector investment, supporting economic growth and alleviating poverty. Since 2008, USAID has been supporting global PFAN. PFAN was designed to bridge the gap between investors, financiers and project developers and to help project sponsors produce financially viable, bankable projects and financing proposals and present them effectively.

The Regional Clean Energy investment Initiative (RCEII) is a three-year program that is designed to support the expansion and strengthening of PFAN in West Africa, as a key part of USAID’s global effort to promote low-emissions development strategies. RCEII applies the methodology of identifying early stage projects suitable for private sector finance and by providing mentoring and advisory services to help guide these projects to financial closure. A key part of both components is to build up and strengthen networks of collaboration on clean energy finance, to facilitate interactions between entrepreneurs and investors. Clean energy investors get access to a network of various clean energy projects that have been vetted and mentored by the PFAN team.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Mahama Kappiah, Executive Director, ECREEE
Tel: (238) 260 4630
Email: mkappiah@ecreee.org
Website: www.ecreee.org

Dr. Peter du Pont, Vice President, Nexant
Tel: (66) 2793 4642
Email: pdupont@nexant.com
Website: www.nexant.com

Mr. Zephyr Taylor, Clean Energy Advisor, USAID
Tel: (1) 202-712 4104
Email: ztaylor@usaid.gov
Website: www.usaid.gov