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A Blended Approach Towards Catalytic Investing
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At Scaling Off-Grid Energy, we try to do more with our funds by exploring how grant capital can catalyze private investment. One approach we are testing is blending our funds with other types of capital, which allows us to mitigate some of the risk for traditional investors looking at the off-grid energy market. Learn more about our approach and how this helps us reach more companies faster.
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Welcome to Our New Class of SOGE Awardees
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Photo: Baobab+. |
We are proud to announ
ce our two latest rounds of award winners.
This fall, SOGE partners USAID and Power Africa invested $4.8 million in supporting financial intermediaries and organizations that are expanding operations, s
caling innovations, and testing new business models in the solar household systems sect
or. We expect
these awards to reach 4.2 million beneficiaries and leverage up to $200 million in external investments in the off-grid sector.
Congratulations to our awardees. Learn more about these companies and how they are committed to creating energy access in Africa:
In addition, SOGE partners USAID, Shell Foundation, Power Africa and UK Development of International Development provided a new round of grants to support technology innovation, de-risk market entry into countries considered high risk/high potential, and help reduce barriers to energy access, including financing and improving the regulatory environment.
Congratulations to:
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Serious Investment in Solar Sector Still Needed
Despite good progress being made in the off-grid solar sector, SOGE founding partner Shell Foundation has produced a report with Catalyst Off-Grid Advisors that shows $33 billion of funding is still needed to meet SDG7. Check out the
interactive map
to see a breakdown of solar deployments, off-grid households and funding required by market.
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News from our SOGE Innovators
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Photo: Fenix International. |
Fenix Acquired by Engie SA: ENGIE and Fenix announced that they have agreed on a transaction where ENGIE will acquire 100% of Fenix International, a next generation energy company offering solar home systems in Africa.
Greenlight Planet Raises $60 Million: London-based private equity fund manager Apis Partners led the $60 million round in new funding for Greenlight Planet's off-grid solar financing business.
Mobisol Secures $25 Million in Follow-on Funding: Investec Asset Management ("Investec"), through its African private equity capability, has made a $25 million follow-on private equity investment into Mobisol. This will allow Mobisol to further its work in providing off-grid solutions to people in East Africa.
Sunna Design Raises 7 Million Euros
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Sunna Design, a Senegal-based off-grid solar company, announced a 7 million euro investment by BNP Paribas, Demeter Partners, SOPER, and Aviva Impact Investing to expand to new international markets by strengthening its commercial and industrial capacities.
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What's Happening in our Target Markets
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Photo: Greenlight Planet. |
Update from Uganda:
SOGE Partners USAID, Power Africa, Shell Foundation, and DFID have partnered with Open Capital Advisors and the Government of Uganda to support off-grid sector acceleration. Latest updates include:
- Ugandan Off-Grid Energy Market Map: Maps current activities across the industry by private sector, donors, development organisations and other stakeholders - and identifies challenges and opportunities to enhance the collective impact from this work. Read the report.
- Promoting Productive Uses of Energy in Uganda: A deep dive report which evaluates emerging technologies in the irrigation, fishing, dairy, grains, oil seeds and coffee industries for their potential to scale with off-grid energy. Read the report.
- Powering Agriculture Event: SOGE, in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), hosted the "Powering Agriculture: The nexus of solar home systems, agriculture, and financial inclusion" event on November 28 in Kampala with 76 participants from 53 organizations. The convening brought together energy, agriculture and finance actors to identify how to work together to scale-up financial inclusion and the uptake of solar home systems through partnerships with agricultural private sector actors.
Update from Nigeria:
USAID/Nigeria and SOGE hosted a multi-stakeholder convening in early November in Lagos aimed at coordinating efforts to accelerate off-grid energy access in Nigeria. Building on a prior event last April, this event drew participants from donor organizations, investors, private companies (both currently and potentially operating in Nigeria), non-governmental groups, and the Government of Nigeria. The highlight was a presentation by Damilola Ogunbiyi, the head of Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency (REA), who clarified REA's vision for off-grid access expansion and cemented the Agency's support for off-grid access.
Looking ahead in 2018, SOGE will support USAID/Nigeria's market acceleration work by organizing an off-grid energy task force, training REA, offering financing opportunities for new market entrants, and collaborating with partners such as the new World Bank Climate Innovation Center, the Shell Foundation and All On.
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Featured Video:
Closing the Financing Gap
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| Photo: Jen Kwack for USAID. |
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How can energy entrepreneurs tap into different types of funding and what emerging technologies can help achieve scale? What are the roles of public and private sector in helping expand energy access and bringing in new players beyond the usual suspects?
Watch Sarah Bieber, Director of SOGE; Anish Thakkar, co-founder of Greenlight Plant; Lauren Cochran, Managing Director of Blue Haven Initiative; Jenn Pryce, President and CEO of Calvert Foundation; Maureen Harrington,
Client Coverage for Power and Infrastructure, Standard Bank Group; and
Andy Herscowitz, Coordinator Power Africa, as they debate these questions and many others at Global Innovation Week.
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