Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa

Upcoming Call for Proposal

Beyond the Grid Fund will launch a first Call for Proposals (BGFA1) in autumn 2020 inviting interested off-grid energy service providers to compete for a number of funding windows. 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 Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mozambique and Zambia.

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.

Sweden will contribute an initial SEK 500 million (approx. EUR 48 million) to the first expansion into Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mozambique and a second phase in Zambia. 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.

Get involved

A market scoping study has been completed in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mozambique and Zambia. Market scoping work is led by REEEP, who during workshops, each with a different theme, gathers feedback and ideas from stakeholder including representatives from the private sector and government agencies.

Following the decision made by Sweden after the first Steering Committee of the facility, Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa will launch a first Call for Proposals (BGFA1) in autumn 2020, inviting interested off-grid energy service providers to compete for a number of funding windows in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Mozambique and Zambia.