Power Africa attends African Investment Forum 2019

Power Africa supported the second annualAfrican Investment Forum (AIF), hosted by our partner African Development Bank, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Forum drew high level participants, including the heads of state from Ghana, Rwanda, and South Africa, Mozambique’s Prime Minister, numerous Cabinet-level officials, President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, as well as 2,221 delegates from 109 countries.

On November 12, the infrastructure investment firm Africa50 and Power Africa signed an MOU focused on attracting power sector financing and developing innovative public private partnership models in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). By working together to leverage resources and increase the efficiency of their programs, Power Africa and Africa50 intend to bring additional power projects to financial close, support transmission and distribution line expansion, and improve energy access. Africa50 made a commitment in the MOU to advance up to 500 kilometers (km) of transmission line development through new and innovative investment and operating models that leverage private sector capital. This commitment contributes to Power Africa’s overall goal of installing 5,000 km of transmission lines in SSA and supports its efforts to mobilize investment in Africa’s infrastructure.

Koffi Klousseh, Africa50’s Project Development Director, and Richard Nelson, Power Africa Deputy Coordinator, sign a MOU making Africa50 a new Development Partner. Prosper Africa Acting Coordinator Matt Rees looks on.

U.S. Trade and Development Agency Acting Director Tom Hardy and Director General of IRENA Francesco La Camera (left photo) and Power Africa Deputy Coordinator Richard Nelson (right photo) open networking pitch sessions for companies at AIF.

In addition, Power Africa and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) along with the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI), hosted the first African Renewable Energy Matchmaking event at the AIF. The event showcased ten (10) investment-ready renewable energy projects, including wind, solar, bioenergy, and hydropower technologies, in Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, ranging in capacity between 6 megawatts (MW) and 70 MW. These projects were selected from an extensive energy project pipeline in IRENA’s Sustainable Energy Marketplace, which highlights over 90 renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa alone. IRENA’s Director-General, Francesco La Camera, joined the Acting Director of the United States Trade and Development Agency, Tom Hardy, in delivering keynote speeches addressing the role of renewable energy in Sub-Saharan Africa’s energy transformation.