BOAD Climate Finance Facility to Scale Up Solar Energy Investments in Francophone West Africa LDCs

The programme targets six Least Developed Countries in West Africa, characterised by one of the lowest access rates to modern energy services in the world, high cost of electricity, overreliance on fossil fuels and subsequent energy security challenges. Based on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and country energy plans, the target countries plan to reach 1,192 MW of installed solar capacity by 2030. However, a significant mobilisation of the private sector at scale would be required to bridge this gap. The programme will help the selected countries to achieve their NDCs and address the barriers to solar investments. It will do this by using a blended finance approach to provide affordable long-term funding to solar projects and by providing tenor extension loans that will help de-risk projects, and crowd-in commercial and public banks in scaling up solar investments in the region. The programme is expected to quadruple the existing solar capacity by providing 215 MW solar energy access to 2.9 million people. It will also provide grant funding to build the capacity of local project developers to structure investments, particularly in terms of project preparation and management. In addition, technical assistance will be provided to build the capacity of BOAD in integrating climate change considerations into project cycle. Finally, the programme will enhance the regulatory framework by building capacity of public institutions in the energy sector. The programme has an estimated lifespan of 20 years.