TOGO: €4m from ADF and Sefa to prepare the deployment of solar mini-grids

Togo receives funding for rural electrification. The €3.73 million funding is provided by the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional lending window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA). The financing is intended to prepare the implementation of an electrification project for 317 localities in Togo.

Specifically, prior to the implementation phase of the project, the government of this West African country will set up special purpose companies in which the state will be able to contribute equity capital in parallel with the private sector. It will also provide technical assistance to build the capacity of the project’s implementing agency.

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“With this new project and the AfDB funding, we share a strong ambition to electrify 317 rural localities. The AfDB’s support will help catalyze private sector financing to make electricity available in unserved areas in the five regions of Togo,” said Robil Nassoma, Director General of the Togolese Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Agency (AT2ER).

The public body implementing the project intends to rely on off-grid systems for the electrification of rural areas. For several years, Togo has been relying on decentralised solutions for rural electrification through the Cizo project, which has mobilised several private operators, notably suppliers of solar home systems.

These solutions have enabled the electrification of 2 million people, 800 health centres, as well as the equipment of 1,000 village water supply systems (VWS), 3,000 small farms with individual solar water pumping or irrigation systems, and the installation of 10 mini-grids using smart meters. According to the World Bank’s 2020 report, Togo has an electricity access rate of 54%. In rural areas, 84% of the population still does not have access to electricity, according to Power Africa.

Jean Marie Takouleu