COVID-19: AfDB Approves $20 Million Concessional Investment

A $20 million concessional investment has been approved by the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group to support the second phase of the COVID-19 Off-Grid Recovery Platform (CRP).

This was revealed on Thursday in a statement issued by Olufemi Terry of the Communication and External Relations Department of the AfDB 

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the CRP is a blended finance initiative to unlock private capital for companies to mitigate the negative impacts of the pandemic, which would be done to advance access to clean electricity and ensure a green economic recovery.

The statement explained that the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), a multi-donor fund managed by the bank, will provide seven million dollars in financing for the expansion, while 13 million dollars would come from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a multilateral environmental fund. 

The fund will also reduce the rising cost of capital, and the effects of the conflict in Ukraine.

Alix Graham, Fund Lead of the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund, said the fund will be able to offer affordable financing in markets.

“With the SEFA concessional funding under CRP, the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund was able to offer affordable financing solutions in markets.

“Such as Malawi and Sierra Leone that helped companies to reduce the impact of increased currency volatility and rising logistics costs.”