The World Bank is providing additional funding of $22.5 million for the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP).

This support fund for solar systems in West and Central Africa is a form of grants from the International Development Association (IDA) as well as the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved this additional new financing to support the development of the autonomous solar systems market in West and Central Africa, particularly in the Sahel countries. It complements the operation approved in April 2019, funded to the tune of $150 million by IDA and $67.2 million by CTF.

The project will support activities to accelerate the deployment of autonomous solar systems in a region where 50% of the population does not have access to electricity, and less than 3% of its inhabitants use such innovative technologies. It will focus on developing the regional market by harmonizing policies and standards as well as trade procedures. Finally, the project will support entrepreneurs with acceleration programs, and provide loans and aid for the deployment of off-grid solar home installations.

The project will support job creation, especially in farming communities through innovative small businesses.
"Autonomous solar systems have great commercial potential in West and Central Africa, including in the Sahel countries, but the region is struggling to attract enough investment in these off-grid solutions," said Deborah Wetzel, Director of Regional Integration for Sub-Saharan Africa. the Middle East and North Africa.

In West and Central Africa, the project involves 19 countries, including the 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) — Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo — as well as Cameroon, Central African Republic, Mauritania and Chad.