About ROGEAP
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE OF THE PROJECT
ROGEAP covers the 12 ECOWAS countries and 7 other countries: Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, the Central African Republic and Chad.
Of the 406 million people living in West Africa and the Sahel region, an estimated 208 million people do not have access to electricity, around 70 per cent of whom live in rural areas. Given the strategic importance of energy in achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Sahel region, the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) launched the Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEAPS), in partnership with the West African Development Bank (BOAD), with the aim of increasing access to electricity for households, businesses and public institutions using modern and autonomous solar technology through a harmonised regional approach.
PROJECT BUDGET
ROGEAPS’ total budget is USD 338.70 million.
The project is funded by the World Bank, with co-financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Government of the Netherlands.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
To improve access to electricity, the project aims to:
(a) identify policy barriers affecting the growth of the standalone solar PV market, raise awareness amongst government policymakers of the benefits of removing these policy barriers, and provide targeted support to remove barriers in challenging markets;
(b) assist countries in adopting common external tariffs (CETs) to facilitate cross-border trade in stand-alone solar products;
(c) develop a regional quality assurance framework to facilitate the supply of eligible stand-alone solar products in the 19 project countries;
(d) strengthen human capital and boost entrepreneurial activity by providing training to develop the necessary skills through a structured entrepreneurship development mechanism, which will ensure a reliable service for beneficiaries and create employment opportunities at local level;
(e) provide access to finance for solar companies and beneficiaries in this new sector of activity;
and (f) reduce the risk associated with the promotion of new technologies and models.
In addition, the project will need to support market studies demonstrating the opportunities and challenges presented by off-grid markets in the project countries. These studies will provide essential data to help manufacturers, distributors and retailers make informed business decisions.
The first key area to be examined in the project’s target countries includes import tariffs, duties and other tax regimes relating to off-grid lighting products that affect the development and sustainability of wider regional off-grid markets.
The second area concerns the regional quality assurance framework designed to facilitate the supply of eligible stand-alone solar products.
To boost regional demand for off-grid solar systems, the project will provide information to users
To highlight the many benefits of high-quality off-grid solar products through consumer awareness campaigns in all 19 countries. The aim is to work towards changing consumer behaviour regarding off-grid products, their accessibility, affordability and benefits, and ultimately to increase their uptake by the population.
PROJECT STRUCTURE
THE PROJECT HAS TWO COMPONENTS: Component I and Component II
Component I: focuses on developing a regional market by creating a favourable business environment and providing technical and financial capacity-building support to solar entrepreneurs in the 19 project countries. ECOWAS is the implementing agency for Component 1. It is divided into four sub-components, including:
- Sub-component 1a: enabling environment;
- Sub-component 1b: technical support for entrepreneurship;
- Sub-component 1c: financial support for entrepreneurship;
- Sub-component 1d: removal of identified barriers in difficult markets.
- Sub-component 2a: Line of credit for companies specialising in stand-alone solar systems.
- and Sub-component 2b: Contingency Subsidy Facility for Enterprises.