Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
| Title | Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa |
| E-mail, phone number and mailing address | Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa Tel: +225 2026 1739 (SEFA Programme Officer, Mr. Goran Lima) Email: sefa@afdb.org |
| Facility URL | www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/sustainable-energy-fund-for-africa/ |
| Facility Objectives | The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is a multi-donor trust fund which promotes renewable energy and energy efficiency through private sector driven small- to medium-sized projects necessary to stimulate the continent’s transition to more inclusive and green growth. SEFA is funded by the governments of Denmark, Italy, the United States and the United Kingdom. The SEFA Secretariat is hosted by AfDB’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department (PERN). |
| Key activities | SEFA's development objective is to support sustainable private-sector led economic growth in African countries through the efficient utilisation of presently untapped clean energy resources. SEFA has been designed to operate under three financing windows: project preparation grants, equity investments (outsourced to AREF, African Renewable Energy Fund) and enabling environment support.
The project preparation grant component provides financial and technical assistance to facilitate the preparation and pre-investment activities of commercially viable private sector small- to medium-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, with the goal of attracting the necessary investment to reach financial close. |
| Type of finance provided | SEFA grants are provided on a cost-sharing basis to fund specific preparation activities. This support is expected to enhance project bankability and enable sponsors to leverage the required equity and debt financing for successful implementation. |
| Size of project supported | Total project size must be between US$ 30 million and US$ 200 million. |
| Range of funding provided (min/max) | Grant co-funding up to US$ 1 million is available, with a minimum co-financing requirement of 30-50%. |
| Beneficiaries supported | Private enterprises or public sector agencies with the goal of becoming either an independent power producer (IPP) or entering into a public–private partnership (PPP). Projects must be implemented in an AfDB member country. |
| Project type | National; sub-national |
| Project preparation phases supported | Activities required for the project to reach financial close, such as feasibility studies, environmental and social impact assessments (ESIA), engineering studies, grid interconnection studies, due diligence costs, legal costs for PPA and concession agreements, etc. |
| Application process | Projects that meet eligibility criteria for grant funding are referred to SEFA or AfDB Investment Officers who develop a Preliminary Evaluation Note (PEN) describing key project parameters, which is then reviewed and endorsed by management. Investment Officers then develop a full project proposal, which is reviewed and endorsed by the SEFA Technical Committee. Proposals for grants up to US$ 1 million are approved at the Infrastructure Operations Vice President level. Proposals for grants over US$ 1 million are referred to the SEFA Oversight Committee and AfDB Board for final approval. |
| Eligibility exclusions | SEFA encourages project applications from least-developed African countries. Submissions from middle-income countries are only considered exceptionally. Submitted projects must at least have cleared the pre-feasibility stage. Solar projects submitted to SEFA should already have been retained by a national solar tender (only for countries that have launched solar tenders). SEFA attempts to keep a geographically and technologically balanced project portfolio: it may not retain a project application on grounds of existing SEFA exposure in a country and/or RE technology. |
| Countries | Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Angola, Botswana, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe |
| Sub-Sectors | Power generation/renewable sources |