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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has committed $40 million in equity investment to Project Zafiri, a new initiative aimed at expanding access to renewable energy in Africa.
Project Zafiri was created through a collaboration involving the AfDB, the World Bank Group, and other institutions.
It seeks to bridge a major financing gap in the renewable energy sector by providing long-term equity capital for decentralized energy solutions.
These solutions are especially important in underserved regions that do not have reliable access to national electricity grids.
Unlike traditional grid systems, decentralized renewable energy (DRE) technologies, such as mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems, can be installed quickly and at lower costs. This makes them well-suited for remote and fragile areas across the continent.
Zafiri is structured as a permanent investment platform, with plans to raise $1 billion in stages.
The first phase aims to gather $300 million in equity, evenly divided between junior and senior shares. The junior equity portion is designed to attract private investors to this high-risk, low-capital market.
Of the AfDB’s total investment, $30 million will come from the bank’s balance sheet and will be allocated as senior equity.
The remaining $10 million will be provided as junior equity through the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), which is a multi-donor fund managed by the bank.
This investment is expected to help scale up renewable energy solutions and reach more communities that currently lack electricity.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering an equity investment of up to $40 million in the Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI), a continent-wide debt fund focused on expanding access to renewable energy in Africa.
DEG, Germany’s development finance institution, has agreed to provide a €30 million loan to the Africa Go Green Fund (AGG), a debt fund managed by Cygnum Capital, to support the expansion of climate-oriented businesses across the African continent.
Egyptian healthtech startup Almouneer has raised $3.6 million in seed funding to develop and scale its DRU app, a platform for lifestyle and diabetes management.
