GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE OF THE PROJECT
The webROGEAP covers the 12 countries of theECOWASand seven 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 have no access to electricity, with around 70 per cent of them living in rural areas. Given the strategic importance of energy in achieving sustainable development and reducing poverty in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Sahel region, the Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency of the ECOWAS (ECREEE) has launched the Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEAP), in partnership with the West African Development Bank (BOAD), with the aim of increasing access to electricity for households, businesses and public institutions by using modern, off-grid solar technology through a harmonised regional approach.
THE PROJECT BUDGET
The total budget for the ‘ROGEAP’ 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 Dutch Government.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
To improve access to electricity, the project aims to:
(a) to identify the policy barriers affecting the growth of the market for off-grid solar PV products, raise awareness amongst government decision-makers of the benefits of removing these policy barriers, and provide targeted support to remove barriers in challenging markets;
(b) to assist countries in adopting common external tariffs (CETs) to facilitate cross-border trade in off-grid solar products;
(c) to develop a regional quality assurance framework to facilitate the supply of eligible off-grid solar products in the 19 project countries;
(d) to strengthen human capital and boostentrepreneurial activity by providing training to develop the appropriate skills required, through a structured mechanism for fostering entrepreneurship, which will ensure a reliable service for beneficiaries and create employment opportunities at local level;
(e) to provide access to finance for businesses in the solar sector and for beneficiaries in this new sector;
and (f) to reduce the risk associated with the promotion of new technologies and business models.
Furthermore, the project will support market research to highlight the opportunities and challenges presented by off-grid markets in the project countries. This research 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 on off-grid lighting products that affect the creation and sustainability of wider regional off-grid markets.
The second area concerns the regional quality assurance framework designed to facilitate the supply of eligible off-grid solar products.
In order to boost regional demand for off-grid solar systems, the project will provide information to users
potential end-users of the many benefits of high-quality off-grid solar products through consumer awareness campaigns in the 19 countries. The aim is to work towards changing consumer behaviour with regard to off-grid products, their accessibility, their affordability and their benefits, and ultimately to increase their uptake by the population.
PROJECT STRUCTURE
THE PROJECT COMPRISES TWO COMPONENTS: Component I and Component II
Component I: focuses on developing a regional market by establishing a favourable business environment and providing support for technical and financial capacity-building for solar entrepreneurs in the 19 project countries. ECOWAS is the implementing agency for Component 1. It is divided into four sub-components, namely:
- 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 to difficult markets.
- Sub-component 2a: credit facility for off-grid solar system companies.
- and Sub-component 2b: contingent grant facility for businesses.