The N254 billion solar power projects in Nigeria and other countries in West Africa will be financed by the World Bank, Clean Technology Fund, and the Dutch Cooperation.
The parties to the agreement are supplying the money to help the ECOWAS member states’ implementation of the regional off-grid electricity access project.
In a statement, ECOWAS announced that as part of its plans to carry out the ROGEAP project, it has hired a group of enterprises to offer financial and technical support to financial institutions in the 19 project countries as well as businesses in the off-grid solar PV industry.
It said, “As part of the implementation of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project, the TSC Global/Intech-GOPA/AFC/BB and Co group officially signed a contract on August 1, 2023 in Abuja as project fund manager of the ROGEAP project.
“The service contract signing ceremony took place in the presence of the Chief Executive Officer/ President of TSC Global, Mr Amara Sackor, representing the group; and Commissioner Sédiko Douka, in charge of Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation of ECOWAS, who is also the chairman of the Steering Committee of the ROGEAP project.
“Following a procurement process in accordance with the donor’s procedures, the TSC Global/Intech-GOPA/AFC/BB consortium was retained by the ECOWAS commission as ROGEAP fund manager to provide technical and financial support.”
It said the support was not only to the private sector, but also to commercial banks and microfinance institutions in the countries covered by the project, in support of the Project Management Unit based in Abuja and in Lomé.
On the monetary value of the project and its sponsors, ECOWAS said, “Worth $338.7m the project is financed by the World Bank, the Clean Technology Fund and the Dutch Cooperation.”
It stated that the ROGEAP project fund manager’s main duty was to assist ECOWAS in carrying out the project by assuring the establishment of the regional ecosystem for the expansion of the off-grid business.
According to the statement, the fund manager will ensure market information exchange, facilitate trading among interested parties, and boost regional demand through consumer education and promotion efforts.
According to ECOWAS, supply-side limitations will be lifted through enhancing the capabilities of commercial banking institutions and other key partners.
“The ROGEAP project fund manager will also intervene in the implementation of technical support for capacity building of enterprises characterised by differentiated support throughout the life cycle of enterprise development.”
The Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEAP), which was first launched in 2017 under that name, was later reorganised and given its present name, Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project, by ECOWAS and its technical and financial partners.
It sought to provide access to affordable electrical services for households, businesses, public infrastructure, health care, education, and other needs in the 15 ECOWAS member countries as well as four additional sub-Saharan African nations (Mauritania, Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Chad).
The project will be carried out by the West African Development Bank and the Regional Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency of the ECOWAS Commission.
According to ECOWAS, their responsibility is to guarantee the creation of a regional market and access to financing for isolated solar systems.
