African Renewable Energy Fund (AREF) has concluded its funding after meeting its $200 million target.
Disrupt Africa reports that the funding, which is aimed at supporting both small and medium scaled renewable energy projects in Africa, came to a close with final funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF).
Back in 2013, the African Development Bank (AfDB) which is also the lead sponsor, approved an equity investment to fast track the energy development project, which was later followed by other notable contributions from Sustainable Energy for Africa (SEFA) and
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) before the close of the $100 million funding back in March 2014.
Alex Rugamba, director of energy and climate change at the AfDB, said the bank was pleased to see that AREF is now fully capitalised to deliver on its pan-African mandate.
“We are also equally excited that SEFA and GEF participation have been catalytic in mobilising significant amounts of commercial capital into AREF over a short time-frame; this is key for accelerating deployment of modern, clean and affordable
energy in the continent,” he said.
Headquartered in Nairobi, AREF was set up to contribute to the investment needs of Africa and to build sustainable renewable energy industries across the region.
