Commitment made to AfDB’s Sustainable Fund for Africa following UN dialogue on Energy.
The German government will contribute €100 million to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), affirming its commitment tap Africa’s renewable energy potential and drive its transition to clean energy sources.
The new funding follows the United Nations High-Level Dialogue on Energy, held in New York on 24 September as part of the UN General Assembly. It will help to unlock private sector investment in green-baseload projects – a major area of focus for SEFA.
Germany will provide the finance to support technical assistance and investment in power generation, transmission and distribution across the continent. The country is building on its provision of €50m in 2020 and has made the renewable transition a priority.
Norbert Barthle, parliamentary state secretary of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, said: “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.”
During Germany’s presidency of the G20, the group launched the G20 Compact with Africa – designed to promote macroeconomic, business and financing reform to attract more private investment in Africa.
Dr. Daniel Schroth, the AfDB’s acting director for renewable energy and energy efficiency, said: “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.”
SEFA is a multi-donor special fund that aims to unlock private sector investments that contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for everyone in Africa. This is in line with the AfDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa strategy, and with the UN sustainable development goal seven. It has also received contributions from the governments of Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, and from the Nordic Development Fund.
