Stakeholders to explore funding opportunities in renewable energy 

The Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Energy Finance (SUNREF), a green financing line for businesses developed by the French Development Agency (AFD), has concluded a plan to host an investor’s conference to explore the financing opportunities in the sector.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo had earlier disclosed that Nigeria is planning to have at least 30 per cent of its total electricity supply from renewable sources, mainly solar power in the next nine years.

The country also plans to reduce carbon emission by 20 per cent by 2030.

The conference, which is being hosted in partnership with the Nigerian Energy Support Program (NESP) implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and All-On, is aimed at attracting investment into Nigeria’s renewable energy and energy efficiency sector.

Preparatory to the event, SUNREF noted that the conference would bring together investors, banks technical assistance providers, renewable energy and energy efficiency project developers, government agencies and other stakeholders and provide a platform to discuss access to finance for RE/EE projects.

Similarly, the Renewable Energy Association of Nigeria (REAN) is expected to host a matchmaking session to enable manufacturers and other businesses to connect with a qualified developer that can offer them energy and cost-saving solutions.

“The main goal is to provide a starting point for those businesses that are interested in RE/EE solutions and want to take advantage of the concessionary lending and technical assistance that the SUNREF Nigeria programme has to offer but they are not sure where to begin”, a statement from SUNREF read in part.

SUNREF Nigeria, hosted by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), is a $70 million credit facility funded by the AFD and the European Union Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU-ITF), which was launched in July 2020 for the development of green projects in Nigeria. It will also provide grants for 10 per cent of the loan amount and technical assistance to support RE/EE projects.