About
Mandate & funders
EDFI ElectriFI is an EU-funded impact investment facility, financing in early stage private companies and projects, focusing on new/improved electricity connections as well as on generation capacity from sustainable energy sources in emerging markets.
This website is funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of EDFI ElectriFI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
Ensuring a global transition towards renewable energy
Providing access to electricity in the poorest countries is a global challenge. More than 700 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in rural areas, are projected to remain without electricity in 2040. Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (7 and 13 in particular) will require investments of more than USD 2 trillion a year in new and sustainable energy supply. The EU has been pioneering efforts to support private sector led climate finance to address these challenges. Launched in 2015 during the COP21, EDFI ElectriFI, the Electrification Financing Initiative, is one of the EU’s key innovative financial instruments.
An innovative tool to accelerate clean energy access
EDFI ElectriFI aims to accelerate the development of businesses providing access to clean energy to hundreds of millions of people by 2030. ElectriFI’s unique business model relies on EU funding so that it can invest in local markets in poorer economies and fragile situations. By combining technical assistance and risk capital, EDFI ElectriFI can take greater risks than other investors. EDFI ElectriFI’s activities de-risk investments and allow private investors and development finance institutions to deploy capital that they could not have invested otherwise.
A collaborative approach to building markets through partnerships
EDFI ElectriFI is managed by FMO who has sub-delegated implementation to EDFI MC, a subsidiary of EDFI, the Association of European Development Finance Institutions. The facility is funded by the European Union, Power Africa, Sweden and Italy. Total size of the ElectriFI facility is 253 million euros earmarked as follows:
- Global window: A budget of EUR 126 million made available for all emerging markets, including additional support from Power Africa (USD 10 million targeted at Sub-Saharan Africa), Italy (EUR 5 million) and Sweden (EUR 5 million).
- Country windows: developed in partnership with EU Delegations and host governments, ElectriFI Country Windows offer offering dedicated funding for selected countries.
The first set of Country Windows (launched in 2018) was allocated to Zambia (EUR 31m), Nigeria (EUR 30m), Côte d’Ivoire (EUR 10m), Benin (EUR 5m) and Pacific (EUR 8m). The second set of Country Windows (contracted at the end of 2020) will deploy specific funding for Kenya (EUR 24.7m), Burundi (EUR 9.3m), Eswatini (EUR 5m) and Uganda (EUR 5m).