Nigeria to benefit from World Bank’s $22.5m electricity grant

THE power sector is set to receive a boost as the country will benefit from the World Bank’s $22.5 million funding for the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) in West and Central Africa.

According to the global bank, the project’s geographic scope would cover Nigeria and 18 other countries in West and Central Africa, 15 of which are members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

 The countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia and Mali. Others are Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad and Mauritania.

 In a statement issued yesterday, in Washington DC, United States, the bank said its board of executive directors has approved the additional financing. It added that the financing is in the form of grants from the International Development Association (IDA) and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF).

“The project will support activities to accelerate the deployment of stand-alone solar products, in a sub-region where 50 percent of the population does not have access to electricity and where less than three percent of the population uses such innovative technologies.

 “It seeks to harmonise policies and standards and business procedures to develop a regional market of stand-alone solar products, support entrepreneurs in business acceleration activities and provide credits and grants for the deployment of stand-alone solar home systems,” the statement read.

The bank further said the project is expected to contribute to human capital development by electrifying public health centers and schools.

 “For instance, it will apply in farming communities which can use solar water pumps for irrigation, solar milling equipment for product transformation and solar refrigerators to bring products to market.

  “The project will support the small and innovative business enterprises through solar home systems and will make an impact in economic recovery, following the coronavirus pandemic,” it added.

The World Bank had, in June 2020, approved a $750 million loan through the IDA to improve the reliability of electricity supply in Nigeria. In February, the bank also approved $500 million to support Nigeria in improving operations of electricity distribution companies (DisCos).