Overview of submitted applications under BGFA2 and BGFA3
The applications are distributed among the Funding Lots for both BGFA2 and BGFA3 as follows:
Figure 1: Applications by number
Note: Standalone solar home systems (SHS) includes applications received both under the LS (Launch to Scale) and DS (Direct to Scale) Funding Windows. See BGFA3 Pre-Qualification Guidelines for further information.
The strongest demand was in the Ugandan mini-grid Lot, corresponding to the largest amount of available funding, followed by the Mozambican mini-grid Lot:
Figure 2: Applications by value
The first Call for Proposals (BGFA1), targeted at Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zambia, was launched in September 2020. It received a strong response among energy service providers, and in December 2020, 46 applicants were invited to take part in the Final Application stage. Following a final external evaluation, 15 projects are currently undergoing detailed due diligence. It is expected that selected projects will be contracted in autumn 2021.
The BGFA programme remains open to donors as a cost-effective tool to finance future Calls for Proposals through existing or new country programmes and expand access to clean energy to millions of people in remote areas of Sub-Saharan Africa.
About BGFA
The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa is a multi-donor facility established and managed by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (Nefco). Nefco is an international financial institution focused on environmental and climate investments based in Helsinki, Finland. BGFA is implemented by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), an international multilateral partnership based in Vienna, Austria, working to accelerate market-based deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions in developing countries.
The current EUR 77 million BGFA programme, which is about to grow to EUR 88 million, was established in 2019 on Sweden’s initiative through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Sweden is contributing SEK 635 million (EUR 60 million), with contributions from the Swedish embassies in the target countries. It has since been developed by Nefco into a multi-donor programme. Power Africa, an initiative administered by USAID, is providing an in-kind technical assistance contribution worth approx. EUR 4 million (USD 4.5 million) over three years to help operationalise the initiative and develop a pipeline of commercially viable projects within the framework of BGFA. Denmark, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, joined the BGFA programme in December 2020, providing an initial EUR 5 million (DKK 37.5 million), and is expected to provide an additional EUR 10.8 million (DKK 80 million; subject to final parliamentary approval) to support the expansion to Uganda. Germany, through its development bank KfW, has joined the BGFA country programme for Zambia with a focus on mini-grids, providing EUR 7.5 million.
BGFA supports, in particular, the objective of Sustainable Development Goal 7, to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, modern energy for all by 2030, as well as the Paris Agreement on climate change and host country priorities.
