NEWS
African
Development
Bank approves
fund for
renewable
energy projects
Solar irrigation solution
named winner of Uganda
Renewable Energy Fund
GrowFast has been named a winner of
the Uganda renewable energy fund
T
he Board of Directors of the African
Development Bank Group has approved
an equity investment of up to US$25 million
in ARCH Africa Renewable Power Fund
(ARPF), a US$ 250 million private equity
fund for renewable energy projects across
Sub-Saharan Africa.
ARPF will provide equity for the
development and construction of 10
to 15 greenfield renewable energy
projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding
around 533MW of installed energy
generation capacity from renewable
sources in the region. This will provide
both base load and peak load power in
underserved markets.
ARPF projects will focus on mature
technologies including wind, solar PV, small
to medium hydro, geothermal and biomass.
These would include grid-connected
independent power producers (IPPs), and
decentralised energy projects (commercial
and industrial solar, mini-grids and solar
home systems companies).
The Fund’s strategy is to prioritise projects
with a clear timeline to financial close,
with emphasis on de-risking early stage
greenfield projects.
“Energy investments in Africa are
constrained by limited well-structured,
bankable projects, as well as by
unavailability of risk capital,” said
Amadou Hott, the Bank’s Vice-President
for Power, Energy, Climate Change and
Green Growth.
“Renewable technologies require additional
support to be fully competitive over fossil
fuel-based energy generation.
“ARPF will expand the pipeline of bankable
energy projects in Africa and complement
and deepen the work of the Bank in this
critical area.”
8
INTELLIGENTCIO
G rowFast, the pay-as-you-go solar
irrigation solution from Azuri
Technologies, has been named a winner
of the Uganda renewable energy
fund launched by the UN CleanStart
programme and Embassy of Sweden. “Solar powered irrigation is helping
increase harvests, improve farming
practices and raising agriculture incomes
which in turn boosts farming incomes and
creates new jobs,” said Simon Bransfield-
Garth, CEO of Azuri Technologies.
More than 200,000 people across
Uganda are set to benefit from the
energy fund and clean energy solutions
including Azuri’s GrowFast solar
irrigation system. “I am delighted that Azuri GrowFast
has been named as a winner of the
UN CleanStart fund and we look
forward to supporting local farmers in
Uganda to increase productivity and
household income.”
GrowFast from Azuri offers farmers an
innovative and affordable pay-as-you-
go solar irrigation bundle that includes
a smartphone with GrowFast app, as
well as crop insurance cover. The solar
irrigation system is designed to improve
productivity, income generation and
living standards of small-holder farmers
by enabling farmers to keep their crops
watered all year long.
Azuri specialises in solar home solutions
including complete solar home lighting
systems, solar satellite TV and solar
irrigation, all made affordable through
a pay-as-you-go service. Products
are designed to deliver world class
performance at an affordable price
for all customers who live away from
mains power.
www.intelligentcio.com