An independent mid-term evaluation of the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) confirms that the programme is delivering strong results in expanding access to off-grid clean energy in sub-Saharan Africa.
The evaluation, carried out by Oxford Policy Management, confirms that BGFA is on the right track to reach its programme target of establishing 1.7 million new energy service subscriptions by 2028 across five countries; Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia, Uganda and Zambia.
The evaluation also highlights that the programme has generated valuable insights and lessons for the sector and for future results-based financing programmes supporting the scale-up of clean energy.
Key strengths of the BGFA programme include strong additionality, flexibility and efficiency. BGFA enables companies to scale and adapt in challenging market conditions while continuing to serve underserved and hard‑to‑reach populations.
The evaluation also concludes that BGFA subsidies are unlikely to have distorted markets, a recognised risk in results‑based financing, since they are carefully targeted at segments where commercial solutions alone would not be viable.
At the same time, the evaluation identifies key areas for learning and improvement, including uneven performance across the BGFA project portfolio, ongoing affordability and business-related sustainability challenges, and the need to accelerate digital monitoring and verification, strengthen engagement with programme stakeholders, and clarify expectations around co-financing and selected indicators.
Together with Nefco, the programme’s Facility Manager, and fellow Implementation Partner, NIRAS, we support the overall direction of the evaluation’s recommendations. We will prioritise the implementation of agreed actions, outlined in the management response (after the Executive Summary), during the remaining implementation period. We will also ensure that lessons from the design and implementation of BGFA are shared widely with key stakeholders to support future results-based financing programmes.
For further information about the mid-term evaluation:
Visit beyondthegrid.africa and read the Mid-term evaluation of the BGFA programme.
