Deutsche Bank’s plan to invest up to $301.6 million over 15 years to expand access to electricity in Nigeria and four other Sub-Saharan African countries has been reinforced with its recent partnership with the global Power for All.
A statement from Power for All confirmed that Deutsche Bank AG, which recently received Green Climate Fund (GCF) financial support to launch a $3.5 billion debt fund for decentralized renewable energy, has joined in its campaign to deliver universal energy access before 2030 through the power of decentralized, renewable electricity.
Accordingly, the Bank’s Universal Green Energy Access Program (UGEAP) will work with local financial institutions to enable banks to provide long-term loans to businesses that provide clean electricity solutions initially in Nigeria, Benin, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania.
Also, the UGEAP is a public-private partnership instrument that could leverage at least two-fold the impact of public capital through private investment. Besides $80 million committed by GCF, UGEAP will also include funding from Swedish development agency (SIDA) and the private sector.
“Deutsche Bank is happy to join the Power for All campaign. It is great to be part of this community which supports the market-building to accelerate energy access for 1.2 billion people living without electricity globally,” said the Global Head of Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility of Deutsche Bank AG, Jörg Eigendorf, on the development.
Similarly, Christine Eibs Singer, Director of global advocacy for Power for All said, the partnership would progress the campaign for mainstream financiers to invest in Africa’s DRE.
“Access to finance, particularly local debt, and reducing currency risk are keys to unlocking the massive potential of decentralized renewable energy in Africa.
“Having a global financial institution such as Deutsche Bank join Power for All brings an important voice into our campaign that highlights to national governments and other stakeholders that distributed clean energy is positioned for commercial scale-up and is an opportunity for mainstream financiers,” Singer said.
