AfDB annual meeting showcases bankable renewables projects: The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) annual meeting of the board of governors kicked off in Sharm El Sheikh earlier this week, bringing together finance ministers and central bank governors from 81 member countries. The officials discussed a framework for spurring private financing domestically and globally and help bridge the climate financing gap and promote the transition to green growth in Africa. Also attending are investors and multilateral financial institutions, who have been presented with potential green investments in Africa. The assembly will conclude tomorrow.

Africa Investment Forum showcases four green projects: Investors were presented with renewable projects worth USD 1.5 bn in a roundtable discussion, according to the bank’s website. The projects included two hydropower projects — one in the south of the continent and the other in the west — a hybrid green hydrogen and ammonia project in North Africa, and a plastic recycling initiative that spans across seven African countries. The ownership and specific locations of the projects were not disclosed. The Africa Investment Forum is a platform that helps companies advance projects to bankable stages, raise capital, and reach financial closure.

The projects need additional funding to launch operations: The hydropower project in southern Africa is looking to raise USD 12.5 mn to finalize the project’s development phase, the website notes. The total cost of the project is USD 440 mn and will generate 544k MWh of energy per year. The second hydropower project in an unspecified country in West Africa — which has passed its feasibility study phase — will have a capacity of 27 MW and will increase the country’s total electricity generation capacity by 10%. The hybrid green hydrogen and ammonia facility is requesting a USD 27 mn investment to reach financial close and aims to produce 1k tons a day of green ammonia using 183 tons of green hydrogen powered by 400 MW of renewables. Finally, a USD 73 mn plastic recycling initiative that aims to remove 214k metric tons of plastic waste was also seeking investors at the roundtable.

Who was there? Representatives from the forum’s founding partners attended the roundtable, including the AfDB, the Africa Finance Corporation, the infrastructure investment platform Africa 50, the Islamic Development Bank, the Trade and Development Bank, Afreximbank, the European Investment Bank, and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. A number of private investors, including venture capital and private equity firms, were also in attendance, the website added.

More to come later this year: The forum will hold a series of investor roundtables ahead of its flagship Market Days event scheduled for 8 to 10 November 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

AFC to collaborate on green projects with Japan: The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) signed an MoU with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation to work on accelerating the rollout of projects supporting Africa’s energy transition, such as renewables, green and blue hydrogen and ammonia, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage, according to a statement.

REMEMBER- Infinity and Masdar’s joint venture, Infinity Power — in which AFC is a key shareholder — acquired the Africa-focused wind power platform Lekela Power in March, making it the largest renewable energy company in Africa.

African leaders double down on need for climate finance: AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina said that Africa needs USD 2.7 tn by the end of the decade to combat climate change, according to a statement. Only 14% of the funds earmarked for Africa from global climate funding come from the private sector, the bank president added. Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly noted that the African continent needs nearly USD 3 tn over 10 years to tackle the impacts of climate change, according to a statement. Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla called for shifting from debt to capital financing for climate projects. In an interview with CNBC, AfDB Secretary General Vincent Nmehielle said that both banks and governments are now prioritizing private sector participation.

Al Jaber chimes in on expanding private finance: COP28 President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber said in a speech at the annual conference that the flow of private capital needs to be mobilized by “fundamentally reforming international financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral development banks” and “adopting policies and regulations that create a favorable investment climate for the private sector” in efforts to unlock more concessional finance, lower risk, and attract private capital, Wam reported.

And met with AfDB president and African leaders to discuss COP28: Adesina sat with Al Jaber to discuss the need for reforming IFIs and the contributions that the bank can make to aid in delivering concrete solutions in the lead up to COP28. In a meeting with the chair of the African Union, Al Jaber talked about the importance of identifying and prioritizing the adaptation requirements for all African member states at COP28, as well as ways to facilitate renewable energy investments in Africa.

Egypt’s sovereign fund wants to encourage private sector participation: The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is preparing standards for sustainable financing in partnership with the CBE and a package of green incentives for the private sector in partnership with the finance and environment ministries, the country’s Planning Minister Hala El Said told director of the French Development Agency in Egypt Clemence de La Blache, according to a statement. El Said also announced that the fund is close to launching the Green for Growth platform to help manage the country’s green projects.

Egypt got a helping hand: AfDB has mobilized USD 2.2 bn to improve Egypt’s water security under the government’s Nexus for Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) program, up from the initially targeted USD 1.4 bn, Adesina said during his speech. The bank’s Just Green Transition initiative, which utilizes financial and technical support from the Climate Investment Funds to help African nations transition to “low-carbon and climate-resilient development,” has over USD 14.8 bn of projects in the pipeline for Egypt’s NWFE program.

REMEMBER- One day ahead of the conference, AfDB approved a partial guarantee of USD345 mn to help Egypt access the panda bond market to finance green and social projects.

AfDB has surpassed its climate financing target this year: The bank hit the 45% mark allocated to climate related financing this year, exceeding the 40% goal it had set, according to the bank. Last year, the bank also announced that 67% of its climate finance goes to adaptation, well over its 50% target.

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