News March 19, 2024

SOARING training in Tanzania and Zambia: ‘’Financing Renewable Energy Technologies’’

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The ‘’Financing Renewable Energy Technologies’’ multiplier training in Tanzania and Zambia provided SME stakeholders with knowledge on relevant clean energy and productive use technologies available on the market, costs and benefits analysis of clean energy applications for SMEs, available financial instruments to fund the energy transition and the tools to prepare their business/investment proposals to attract finance.

Small and medium-sized renewable energy service companies and project developers in Tanzania and Zambia are struggling to access financing though local development and commercial banks. Local financial Institutions are increasingly gaining access to climate funds, but are lacking the experience and track record of investing into these modem technologies and business models.

To overcome these market barriers, REEEP, in partnership with RENAC, is designing and implementing the Southern African Renewable Energy Investment and Growth Programme (SOARING) programme, which is taking a prototype approach to enable small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) of clean energy and productive use technologies leveraging solar to access climate finance and, in particular, local currency financing.

On May 19-20 and 23-24, Robert Zeidler, REEEP’s Senior Project Manager for the SOARING programme, lead the ‘’Financing Renewable Energy Technologies’’ multiplier training in Tanzania and Zambia.

The training provided SME stakeholders with knowledge on relevant clean energy and productive use technologies available on the market, costs and benefits analysis of clean energy applications for SMEs, available financial instruments to fund the energy transition and the tools to prepare their business/investment proposals to attract finance.

"The training was very well received by stakeholders, and we were able to foster exchange between SMEs, local financial institutions and organisations working on the energy-food nexus"

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Robert Zeidler
Company: Senior Project Manager
Position: SOARING programme, REEEP

They learned how to identify the potential growth opportunities of renewable energy systems, understand the benefits of investing in solar-powered applications for businesses along the agricultural value chain, conduct hands on assessments of the technical and financial viability of solar applications and how to effectively promote renewable energy systems in their businesses.

‘’We wrapped it up successfully with most representatives from trade associations and non-government organizations enthusiastic about the skills and tools to assess financial needs and viability of productive use of decentralized energy solutions. The training was highly interactive with many participants assessing and further refining their own potential productive use project pipeline.’’

As a next step SOARING aims to work with project developers and renewable energy companies in Tanzania and Zambia on their ventures to get them ‘bankable’ for national development and commercial banks in the respective countries.

SOARING is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and implemented by REEEP in cooperation with the Renewables Academy (RENAC).

Learn more about the programme here.

Learn more about the SOARING programme

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