Lusophone Compact and other financing instruments

The Lusophone Compact and other financing instruments Information Session was held on May 27 at AICEP’s facilities, jointly organized by ALER, AICEP, GPEARI and SOFID.

The objective of this session was to raise awareness of available financing instruments for renewable energy projects in the PALOP and to provide a framework for the projects opportunities in this countries.

Rosa Caetano from the Planning, Strategy, Evaluation and International Relations Office of the Ministry of Finance (GPEARI), presented the Lusophone Compact, highlighting the instruments made available by Portugal and stating that the Mozambican specific compact had already been signed, like ALER has announced here, and was expected to sign soon the Compact for Angola and Cape Verde.

This was followed by the presentation of the available financing instruments from the African Development Bank (AfDB) by João Cunha, in terms of loans, equity, guarantees and grants. Particular attention should be paid to the recently created Facility for Energy Inclusion (FEI) for both off-grid and on-grid projects, and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), currently funding projects in Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique, and providing institutional technical assistance to Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe and Angola.

Bruno Pereira presented afterwards the instruments of the Society for Development Financing (SOFID), highlighting the European Investment Bank's line for ACP countries and InvestimoZ, and reinforcing the additionality of SOFID intervention and support in the mobilization of partners and resources.

After the presentations about the various financing options, ALER’s Executive Director, Isabel Cancela de Abreu, went on to describe the opportunities for renewable energy projects in the PALOP, in terms of institutional and legal framework, projects and private sector participation. She called everyone’s attention to the fact that ALER already has available national reports for Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau with all the relevant market information.

This description was complemented by a brief analysis of the business environment in Mozambique and Cape Verde, made by AICEP delegates from each of the countries.

All presentations are available here, and you can check the photos of the event here.

ALER is willing to organize a meeting with stakeholders interested in applying for funding under the Compact and to provide further clarification on the financial structuring of projects.

In addition, we are also available to schedule bilateral meetings in Lisbon with AfDB representative João Cunha, Director of the Renewable Energy Initiatives Department, from June 11 to 14. If you are interested in any of these initiatives, please inform us at geral@aler-renovaveis.org.