Strengthening the case for Mini-grids in Africa

16 April 2020 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm Strengthening the case for Mini-grids in Africa: Session 1 & 2
30 April 2020 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm Strengthening the case for Mini-grids in Africa: Session 3
7 May 2020 @ 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm Strengthening the case for Mini-grids in Africa: Session 4

The sessions are co-convened by the Africa LEDS Partnership (AfLP) as well as the Finance Working Group and the Energy Working Group of the Low Emissions Development Strategies Global Partnership (LEDS GP) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Video recording forthcoming

The African Mini-Grid Community of Practice (AMG-CoP) - a collaborative network of 16 African country governments - has identified mini-grids as a central element of developing a decarbonised, climate-resilient energy services sector for the nearly 600 million people across Africa who lack access to affordable, safe and clean energy. 

Mini-grids answer the call for solutions that deliver climate change mitigation and resilience, while also advancing economic and social development benefits. In 2020, governments around the world are required to submit their revised Nationally Determined Contribution strategies for reducing global carbon emissions. This creates a unique opportunity to strengthen the rural electrification - climate resilience - sustainable development nexus.

16 April - 16:40 - 17:30 SAST/ 17:40 - 18:30 EAST
Making energy access through mini-grids affordable: The role of governments and international climate finance (60 mins)
This session explored the current mini-grid climate finance landscape in Africa and how tapping into available climate finance can strengthen both rural electrification and climate action.

• How can the sustainable development objectives of electrification, economic development and climate change mitigation and resilience be more effectively integrated?
• How can energy access in Africa be advanced through climate finance?
• How can public-private partnerships deliver enhanced electrification and other key community benefits, while also contributing to a stronger bottom line (economic performance) and more attractive investment environment for the private sector?

This event brought together (in the virtual space) African government leaders, climate finance experts, financial institutions and investors, as well as mini-grid developers and operators. The virtual workshop will assess the role of mini-grids in the current NDCs of Sub-Saharan African governments, discuss how a stronger focus on mini-grid-based rural electrification can increase climate ambition while delivering multiple sustainable development co-benefits, and identify the role of governments and international climate finance in this regard.

• Facilitators Josh Ogada (SouthSouthNorth )
• Ieva Indriunaite (SD Strategies)
• Alexia Kelly (Electric Capital)
• Alexander Obiechina (SD Strategies) CEO at ACOB Lighting Technology Limited
• Tim Reber (NREL)