Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa

Open Call for Proposal

The first Call for Proposals is open until 30 October and invites off-grid energy companies to compete for results-based funding to bring clean, modern and affordable energy to customers in peri-urban and rural areas of Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zambia. The aim is to stimulate new sustainable business models which incentivise and accelerate the private sector to offer affordable and clean off-grid energy access at scale in these target countries.

New initiative on clean cooking financing solutions

Sida, through the Swedish Embassy in Zambia and together with NEFCO, is now commencing a new initiative, the Scaling of Clean Cooking Solutions programme. The first phase is to carry out detailed scoping in Zambia, looking into ways to test the use of Results-Based Financing to incentivise the development and sales of innovative clean cooking solutions at scale.

What has been done so far?

During its first two years, the award-winning Beyond the Grid Fund has provided off-grid electricity and/or clean cooking to 150,000 households in Zambia. Watch the video on how the initiative has brought optimism to rural and peri-urban communities, and catalytic early-stage capital to energy service providers in the country.

What's behind the successful concept?

How did it all start? What makes the BGFA initiative so special? What needs to be taken into account when rolling out a financing programme like BGFA? Watch the video to learn more about the BGFA concept, its impact and how it all started from the actors behind the initiative.

Clean and affordable off-grid energy

Over 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live today without access to electricity. For most of these people, connection to the grid is not likely to happen for decades, or longer. The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) aims to reduce this gap by stimulating and accelerating the emergency of new business models to incentivise the private sector to offer affordable and clean energy access at scale to people living in rural and peri-urban areas. The programme builds on the positive experiences of the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia (BGFZ), which Sweden commenced in 2016 and which is successfully implemented by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP).

Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa forms part of the ‘Power Africa’ initiative launched by former President Barack Obama and contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal 7 as well as the Paris Agreement on Climate. The planned period of implementation is in total six years. The programme aims to benefit 5 to 15 million rural and peri-urban people in the participating countries.

Contributors and available funding

Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa is funded by Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). NEFCO is managing the facility and the programme is implemented in cooperation with REEEP.

Currently the Pre-Qualification stage of the first Call for Proposal (BGFA1) is ongoing for Burkina Faso, Liberia and Zambia. Applications can be submitted until 30 October through the SmartME online tool available at beyondthegrid.africa. Start the application process by registering to the SmartME system. Applicants are requested to send any questions regarding the call and application process through the SmartME intake system at the latest by 5 October 2020.

BGFA1 aims to incentivise off-grid energy companies to accelerate the establishment of new, long-term sustainable energy service subscriptions at scale. In total, some EUR 30 million is offered to qualified, private off-grid energy service providers under three different Country Programmes, with funding opportunities split into a number of Funding Windows and Funding Lots. The contract size is expected to be EUR 1 – 4 million, depending on the target country and individual needs. The planned country programme for Mozambique has been postponed and will form part of a separate, subsequent Call for Proposals.

The plan is to have some 15 contracts signed by May 2021, with project implementation starting in August 2021. Awarded funds will be disbursed during a four-year period. By 2025, it is expected that up to 700,000 off-grid long-term sustainable energy service subscriptions will have been entered into with customers, bringing clean and affordable energy to more than 3.5 million people in peri-urban and rural areas.

Sweden is contributing an initial SEK 500 million (approx. EUR 48 million) to this first expansion into Burkina Faso and Liberia, the second phase in Zambia and later also Mozambique. A further expansion to Uganda is also being planned, with an initial SEK 130 million (EUR 11.8 million) funding from the Embassy of Sweden in Kampala, subject to a successful market scoping and final donor decision.

Power Africa, an initiative administered by USAID, is providing a considerable in-kind technical assistance contribution. Several other donors have also shown interest in joining the programme. If your institution or organisation is interested in contributing as a donor or supporter to the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa, please contact us.