The Coordinator’s Corner: October 2016
Notes from the Field
Friends,
Welcome to another edition of the Power Africa newsletter! We’ve got some really exciting updates from headquarters and from our teams across sub-Saharan Africa.
Executive Order on Power Africa
It’s official! The Executive Order on Advancing the Goals of the Power Africa Initiative to Expand Access to Electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa Through the Establishment of the President’s Power Africa Working Group was signed by President Obama on Nov. 3. This is a huge step in our efforts to institutionalize the work of Power Africa, and one that we’ve all been working on for some time.
Power Africa Visits West Africa
Last month, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) CEO Dana Hyde visited West Africa with stops in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin, and Ghana. MCC has invested more than $1.5 billion in the power sector in sub-Saharan Africa and the results are real. In December, the Mt. Coffee Hydropower Project will be commissioned, and it would not have gotten to where it is without MCC’s assistance.
Partnering with Japan
The Power Africa team also traveled to Tokyo last month where we met with government and private sector officials to identify specific areas of collaboration and to start developing a work plan. We see tremendous potential in working with the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to expand its portfolio in coordination with other Power Africa partners. Specifically, we learned a few new things:
- JBIC offers a broad array of financial tools to encourage investment in developing countries. Currently, a small percentage of JBIC’s portfolio currently is invested in sub-Saharan Africa, but JBIC clearly is committed to expanding that portfolio, and we hope to find opportunities to work side-by-side to facilitate that growth.
- The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also has a vast toolbox and is interested in focusing on transmission lines, geothermal power, power pool development, and distribution — areas that perfectly complement Power Africa’s goals and that will help fill some funding gaps.
- Finally, we sat down with Mr. Seiji Okada, the ambassador for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) and deputy director general with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, to learn more about what this partnership means for Japan and the continent. Read our Q&A here.
Report Card on Power Africa
We’re proud to see that we received an overall grade of A- for Power Africa’s efforts and collaboration over the last few years. Although it pointed out that we still have much work to do, the Center of Global Development’s report card praised our interagency collaboration, the transparency of our reporting, and the progress that the Power Africa agencies have made in advancing our goals. It even noted that we seem to be underreporting our successes — an assessment with which I agree, so we continue to look for ways to do a better job of capturing Power Africa’s successes and data points.
African Development Bank (AfDB) President Meets with Power Africa
On Oct. 14, AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina met with the U.S. Government interagency Power Africa team to discuss our partnership and future collaboration. President Adesina was complimentary of Power Africa and highlighted the Electrify Africa Act of 2015 and AfDB’s new organizational structure with a unit dedicated to power. He suggested the need for a framework between AfDB and Power Africa to identify strengths and opportunities, as well as to monitor and evaluate progress across the 12 strategic pillars, which we are actively pursuing.
OPIC Loan of $5 million to d.light
OPIC has committed a loan of $5 million to d.light, which will be used for the expansion of operations in East Africa, including funding product development, expansion of the distribution network, and inventory working capital. d.light, a Power Africa partner, is a global solar energy company delivering affordable solar lighting and power solutions for households and small businesses, through single function, multi-function, and power system products. To date, d.light has sold over 10 million solar light and power products in 62 countries.
U.S. Energy Association (USEA) in Senegal
With support from USAID, USEA conducted a four-day Power Africa workshop on renewable energy project planning and finance for representatives of various agencies within the Senegalese energy sector. Topics discussed included: renewable energy policy implementation, grid management/optimization for renewables, and best practices for standard power purchase agreements. Participants included lawyers, investors, engineers, and government officials.
Power Africa Works with U.S. Companies and Local Governments in North Carolina
Power Africa was well represented at the Energizing Africa Through Partnerships program organized by North Carolina businesses and local governments. Representatives from the USAID, MCC, OPIC, and the Export-Import Bank participated in panel discussions highlighting business opportunities in Africa’s energy sector, along with tools and resources available to support successful partnerships. The three-day program included a “matchmaking” day that provided an unique opportunity for Power Africa to meet directly with a wide range of U.S. companies, including local small businesses, looking to advance their export opportunities to Africa.
In the News
Power Africa and our partners were in the news quite a bit this month, as seen in the news and media section of our website. Our partner Denham Capital’s development company Greenwish commissioned a 20 MW solar array in Senegal. I had the great opportunity to join a few Power Africa partners to kick off CNBC Africa’s new mini-series on Powering Africa. I joined GE Africa CEO Jay Ireland, CEO African Rainbow Energy Brian Dames, and Deputy Director of the Africa Progress Panel Max Jarrett.
Thanks for following along and please let us know if we’ll get to see you next week at the climate discussions in Marrakech!
Best,
Andy
About the Author
Andrew Herscowitz is the Coordinator for Power Africa. Follow him on Twitter @aherscowitz. Follow Power Africa on Facebook and Instagram.
