The African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is providing a grant worth $965,000 to Morocco’s Société d’Ingénierie Energétique (SIE), to support its transition into the first Super Energy Service Company (ESCO) initiative in Africa.
As an African Development Bank (AfDB)-managed special fund, the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) focuses on providing finance for renewable energy. Also, SEFA’s overarching goal is to contribute and ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all in Africa, which is in line with the AfDB’s New Deal on Energy for Africa and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 7.
According to Ahmed Baroudi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Société d’Ingénierie Energétique (SIE), “This support from the African Development Bank will enable the operationalization of the new SIE as a Super ESCO, thus creating a model well aligned with the needs of the country’s energy efficiency sector”.
Additionally, the African Development Bank (AfDB) further revealed that this grant comes at a crucial time where amid growing demand, Morocco aims to meet its energy needs by combining large-scale energy efficiency strategies and renewable energy investments.
For instance, the UN reveals that as at 2018, 789 million people lacked electricity and in some developing countries 1 in 4 hospitals did not have access to affordable and reliable electricity, which is having implications for COVID-19.
Super Energy Service Companies also serve as vehicles for channelling funds into public sector energy efficiency investments such as hospitals, schools, and street lighting, laying the foundation for private investment later in the commercial and industrial sectors.
Therefore, AfDB further asserts that as a Super ESCO, the SIE should be able to overcome many of the challenges in scaling up energy efficiency investments. It will also open market opportunities for local Energy Service Companies, offer quality assurance support and build their reputation among end-users and investors.
Brice Mikponhoue, Officer in Charge at the North Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office of the African Development Bank sharing his thoughts opined that the grant will provide SIE with operational tools to develop a pipeline of bankable energy efficiency investment projects.
Jalel Chabchoub, Chief Investment Officer and Energy Efficiency Specialist in the Department of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the African Development Bank, commenting on the new initiative disclosed that “The implementation of Super ESCOs on the continent will gradually contribute to the expansion and strengthening of the energy efficiency financing ecosystem.
“The African Development Bank is proud to support the first Super ESCO in Africa and looks forward to supporting further projects in the future”.
Jalel Chabchoub
Giving some background information about the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), the Fund was established in 2011 in partnership with the Government of Denmark.
Since the initiation of SEFA, it has received several contributions from the Governments of various countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Germany as well as the Nordic Development Fund.
Currently, SEFA is housed in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department (PERN) under the Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth (PEVP) complex.
