African Development Bank

The Ministry of Environment and Energy Security collaborates with the African Development Bank through the contribution to 2 Funds.

In December 2015, Italy joined the governments of Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States in joining the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), the multi-donor trust fund established by the African Development Bank to support small and medium-sized projects dimensions regarding renewable and energy efficiency in Africa. Italy has contributed with 7.4 million Euros.

On October 31, 2019 the SEFA was converted into a "special fund", SEFA 2.0, to better respond to changes in the renewable energy and energy efficiency market, with the growing demand for a wider range of financial instruments. Norway, Spain, Sweden, Germany and the Nordic Development Fund have been added as Donors.

Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). SEFA's overall objective is to contribute to universal access to clean and sustainable energy across the African continent by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 7 “affordable and clean energy” of the 2030 Agenda. The interventions are concentrated on three thematic areas:

(1) Green Mini-Grids (GMG) to accelerate the access to energy for disadvantaged populations;

(2) Green Baseload (GBL) to increase the penetration of renewable energy into power systems, with a strong focus on system stability and providing alternatives to the use of fossil fuels, with particular attention to the distribution of solar energy in countries Sahel.

(3) Energy Efficiency (EE) to improve the efficiency of energy services provided through a variety of technologies and business models, including clean cooking and residential photovoltaic systems. The objectives are pursued through Technical Assistance programs aimed at both the private and public sectors and through Subsidized Investments, in the form of loans and equity instruments.

The Fund has committed approximately $80 million to support 60 projects representing approximately 699 MW of new sustainable energy capacity to be installed, and $1.7 billion in total investments to be deployed. The composition of the portfolio is diversified, including photovoltaic, hydroelectric, wind, biomass and geothermal projects and is well distributed across the entire African continent, for a total of 27 countries, of which 14 are in transition.

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•Africa Climate Change Fund, (ACCF). The ACCF plays an important role in supporting African countries to access climate finance and achieve the goals set out in their NDCs, (National Determined Contributions). The main objective of the projects is to strengthen the institutional capacities of the beneficiary governments to implement large-scale projects and programs capable of attracting international climate finance, such as those of the Green Climate Fund, (GCF).

The ACCF is also engaged in activities aimed at improving access to climate information, enhancing knowledge exchange between beneficiary countries, promoting knowledge on green finance through training and information events. The direct beneficiaries of the ACCF are African governments, non-governmental organizations, research centers, regional institutions based in Africa, departments of the Bank itself and consortia made up of eligible entities. Approved projects receive contributions from the Fund in the form of grants.

The Fund currently has a portfolio consisting of 15 projects, for a total amount of USD 8 million.

All the tender notices launched and the rules relating to procurement are available at the link: http://www.afdb.org/en/projects-and-operations/procurement/

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