Dubai-based Access’ Power, a developer, owner and operator of power assets in Africa, today launched the Africa Co-Development Fund (ACF), a US$ 5 million competition designed to bridge the gap between early stage renewable energy projects in Africa and the expertise and funding they require to come to operation.
Open to entries between 1st April and 20th May, the ACF will short list up to five projects from those submitted for a final round of screening by a panel of experts to take place on 11th June 2015 during the 2015 Africa Energy Forum (AEF) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The winning project(s) from the AEF final round will enter into a Joint Development Agreement with Access. Access will take an equity stake in the successful project(s) and fund third party development costs related to the project(s), such as feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments and other due diligence fees. The successful project(s) will also be able to draw upon Access’ expertise for technical support, financial structuring and development process management.
In a statement, Reda El Chaar, Chairman of Access PowerMEA, said: “ACF is a unique platform bringing together the funding and expertise renewable energy project originators and developers across Africa need to succeed.The inaugural ACF will be an exciting feature of this year’s Africa Energy Forum and we are confident that the ACF will develop in subsequent years into a platform that attracts early stage funding from Development Financing Institutions, International Financing Institutions and various donor organizations.”
Project originators and developers interested in applying to the inaugural ACF have until 20th May 2015 to enter. More information about the application process can be found through the dedicated link on Access’ website – access-power – or the AEF 2015 website – africa-energy-forum.
Recently, the firm won a tender to build a US$17 million, 10 megawatt plant in Soroti Uganda. The project is set to power 40,000 homes, in a country where just 15 per have access to power. The company is looking to develop a portfolio of renewable energy projects in 15 countries in Africa.
