By Anthony M. Wanjohi: As the effects of climate change continue to impact on humanity, the world is left with no choice other than to embrace sustainable energy solutions. Sustainable Development Goal 7 already sets the roadmap for the world! As such, the need to invest more in sustainable energy solutions such as biogas, solar among others remains the world’s Fundamental Choice! This article provides a brief review of the major donor agencies funding biogas in Africa. This review is drawn for the purpose of supporting both individuals and organizations seeking donor funding opportunities in biogas projects in Africa’s context.
1. Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP)
Website: http://www.africabiogas.org/
The Africa Biogas Partnership Program (ABPP) is a Public- Private Partnership engagement program which aims to provide access-to-energy services through the installation of biogas digesters in partnership with local enterprises, NGOs, and governments. The objectives of this partnership is to create a sustainable sector focused on building bio-digesters in order to improve life conditions of the population, increase agro-pastoral production and fight against poverty in rural and peri-urban areas. After a first phase, the focus for the second phase will be on improving customer service and climate finance opportunities through the sale of carbon credits on international markets. The project is undertaken in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burkina Faso. By June 2018, 320,000 people have benefitted from ABPP.
2. Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO)
Website: https://www.preo.org/
PREO programme is promoting the productive use of energy (PUE) by stimulating partnerships, innovations and learnings, to address the needs and improve the livelihoods of sub-Saharan. Action Learning Projects, Partnership Services, and Technical Assistance. These functions induce innovations that address current industry needs, consolidate fragmented efforts, and disseminate knowledge and learnings for the betterment of rural sub-Saharan African communities. PREO funds Action Learning Projects up to €300,000 in value.
With support from PREO, BURN expanded its range of clean cook stoves and began production of the newly designed Kuni-okoa TURBO Stove at their factory in Kenya and launched distribution across rural Kenya through existing distribution partnerships. The TURBO is a forced draft biomass stove that is compatible with Pay-As-You-Go (“PAYG”) solar systems and is more efficient and cleaner-burning than their innovative Kuni-okoa stove.
3. Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
Website: https://www.afdb.org/en/contacts
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is a multi-donor Special Fund managed by the African Development Bank. It provides catalytic finance to unlock private sector investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. SEFA offers technical assistance and concessional finance instruments to remove market barriers, build a more robust pipeline of projects and improve the risk-return profile of individual investments. The Fund’s overarching goal is to contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all in Africa, in line with the New Deal on Energy for Africa. SEFA is housed in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department (PERN) under the Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth (PEVP) complex.
4. Africa Climate Change Fund
https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-and-sectors/initiatives-partnerships/africa-climate-change-fund
The ACCF Secretariat brings to the notice of applicants to both its Demand Driven Window and the Third Call for Proposals that the technical review process of the full proposals is currently ongoing by the team of experts. Applicants may be contacted every moments throughout the review process when needed to provide additional information and/or address relevant comments to sustain their proposals.
The ACCF’s “Demand Driven Window” is a special funding window with $2,2m envelope which was approved by the Oversight Committee Members on September 2020 to provide the opportunity to potential beneficiaries that are unable to meet the criteria under the Fund’s traditional Call for Proposals to benefit grants within the range of $250,000 – $500,000 to support their activities. The current demand Driven Window focused on four specific intervention areas: (i) Electrification of health centers in rural areas using batteries; (ii) Management of medical and sanitary waste including hazardous waste incineration; (iii) Land restoration in collaboration with farmers especially in the Sahel; (iv) Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) Revisions and Long-Term Strategies.
To date, the ACCF has approved 15 small grant projects for a total of about USD 8 million. The approved projects are supporting over 16 African countries (i.e. Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Eswatini, Lesotho, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Swaziland, Sudan, Uganda, and Zanzibar (Tanzania)), via individual country and multinational projects to strengthen their capacities to access international climate finance, and implement small-scale adaptation projects to enhance their resilience.
5. The Africa Biogas Partnership Program (ABPP)
Website: https://snv.org/
The Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP) is a Public- Private Partnership engagement programme which aims to provide access-to-energy services through the installation of biogas digesters in partnership with local enterprises, NGOs, and governments. After a first phase, the focus for the second phase will be on improving customer service and climate finance opportunities through the sale of carbon credits on international markets
6. Enabling African Cities for Transformative Energy Access
Website: https://africa.iclei.org/enact-grant-opportunity/
The ENACT (Enabling African Cities for Transformative Energy Access) project is calling for applications from energy-based small and medium enterprises and partnerships to deliver interventions that can improve clean cooking in informal settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone. A total of up to £50,000 will be granted to one successful applicant to deliver high-quality, reliable, and affordable clean energy cooking products and services to households and/or micro-enterprise
7. The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF)
Website: https://geeref.com/
The Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund (GEEREF) represents the first fund-of-funds that invests in small- and medium-sized renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in developing countries. This project provides access to sustainable energy for people in developing countries, fights climate change, and seeks robust financial returns for investors.
8. Ikea Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation
Website: http://ikeafoundation.org
The IKEA Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation announced they will join forces to set up a $1 billion catalytic fund, committing $500 million each to scale up distributed renewable energy around the world. This would generate power from sources such as mini-grids and off-grid sources that are located near the point of use, rather than centralized sources like power plants. The combined funds will be overseen by a new global platform – launching this year – that will aim to rapidly channel development funds to projects on the ground. The initiative will be formalized as an Energy Compact in the weeks ahead.
9. World Bank
Website: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/energy
At today’s rate of progress, the world is still not on track to achieve the SDG 7 goals of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy by 2030. Globally, 733 million people still have no access to electricity, and 2.4 billion people still cook using fuels detrimental to their health and the environment.
The access gap has widened across regions. The 20 countries with the least access to electricity are home to 76 percent of the global population left in the dark. Nearly 90 million people in Asia and Africa who had previously gained access to electricity, can no longer afford to pay for their basic energy needs.
10. Sustainable fund for Africa [SEFA]
Website: https://www.afdb.org
It is a multi-donor special fund that is managed by Africa Development Fund It provides catalytic finance to unlock private sector investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. SEFA offers technical assistance and concessional finance instruments to remove market barriers, build a more robust pipeline of projects and improve the risk-return profile of individual investments.
11. Kenya Renewable energy association (KEREA)
https://www.gogla.org/sites/all/themes/gogla/favicon.ico
The Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA) is an independent non-profit association dedicated to facilitating the growth and development of renewable energy business in Kenya. Amongst its key roles are promoting the interests of members of the renewable energy industry among government, public sector, the general public and any other organizations that may impact on the development of the industry; and the creation of a forum for the dissemination and exchange of information and ideas on matters relating to renewable energy development and utilization in Kenya.
12. GIZ
https://www.giz.de
GIZ is a German organization that provide technical & and financial support to many projects. It has been the global pioneer in applying renewable energy and environmental technologies. It aims to improve the framework conditions for increased access to clean energy in rural and peri-urban areas
13. Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership [REEEP]
Website: https://www.reeep.org/
The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership develops innovative, efficient financing mechanisms to advance market readiness for clean energy services in low- and middle-income countries. REEEP designs and implements tailor-made financing mechanisms, utilizing targeted injections of public funding to build dynamic, sustainable markets and ultimately make clean energy and energy efficiency technology accessible and affordable to all. REEEP invests primarily in disruptive approaches led by small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) players in low- and middle-income countries, facilitating market- and community-led energy transitions.
14. Climate and Development Knowledge Network [CDKN]
Website: https://cdkn.org/
CDKN supports decision-makers in designing and delivering climate compatible development. We do this by combining research, advisory services and knowledge management to support locally owned and managed policy processes. We work in partnership with decision-makers in the public, private and non-governmental sectors nationally, regionally and globally. We hold strongly to the ideals of human development and environmental sustainability.
15. Kenya Center Innovation Climate Center (KCIC)
Website: https://www.kenyacic.org/
The Kenya climate innovation center (KCIC) offers comprehensive, country-led assistance to accelerate the development, deployment, and transfer of locally relevant climate and clean energy technologies. The KCIC provides incubation, capacity building, and financing to Kenyan entrepreneurs and new ventures developing innovative solutions to climate change challenges in energy, water, and agribusiness. The Kenya CIC is the first in a global network of CICs launched by Infodev’s Climate Technology Program(CTP) and is supported by the world bank’s infodev. the Kenya cic is supported by ukaid and the danish ministry of foreign affairs.
They provide technical and financial support to biogas projects in Kenya it is a multi-donor program administered by the World Bank group, with a focus on entrepreneurs in developing economies.
16. KawiSafi Ventures
Website: https://kawisafi.com/
KawiSafi has since 2016 invested in several leading companies driving transition to clean energy sources across the continent. The company operates hubs in Mexico, Colombia, Kenya and India where it distributes biogas technology, service and financing for farmers to address challenges of poverty, food security, and climate change.
17. Africa Biogas Partnership Programme [ABPP]
Website: https://www.africabiogas.org
The Africa Biogas Partnership Programme (ABPP) is a Public- Private Partnership engagement programme which aims to provide access-to-energy services through the installation of biogas digesters in partnership with local enterprises, NGOs, and governments.
18. Africa Biogas Component [ABC] Kenya – EnDev
Website: https://endev.info
African Bio digester Component (ABC) aims to support the growth and
sustainability of a commercial bio digester sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The intervention will result in the installation of at least 50,000 small scale bio digesters by 2025 across Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, Niger and Uganda providing energy access for at least 250,000 people.
19. Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
Website: https://www.afdb.org.
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) is a multi-donor Special Fund managed by the African Development Bank. It provides catalytic finance to unlock private sector investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. SEFA offers technical assistance and concessional finance instruments to remove market barriers, build a more robust pipeline of projects and improve the risk-return profile of individual investments. The Fund’s overarching goal is to contribute to universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy services for all in Africa, in line with the New Deal on Energy for Africa and Sustainable Development Goal seven.
Grants are available throughout the year.
20. Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Website: https://www.thegef.org
The Global Environment Facility is a multilateral environmental fund that provides grants and blended finance for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established to provide grants and concessional funding to cover the costs of transforming a project with national benefits into one with global environmental benefits. The GEF brings together 183 member governments, as well as international institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. It is now the largest funder of global environmental projects, providing grants for projects in biodiversity, climate change mitigation, land degradation, chemicals and waste, climate change adaptation, and international waters.
21. SNV Netherlands and development Organization (SNV)
Website: https://snv.org
SNV is a non-profit organization dedicated to international development. Founded in the Netherlands in 1965, they have established a long-term, local presence in many of Asia’s, Africa’s, and Latin America’s poorest countries. The global team of local and international advisors collaborate with local partners to provide communities, businesses, and organizations with the tools, knowledge, and connections they require to increase their incomes and gain access to basic services, thereby empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development. SNV’s mission is to catalyze processes of sustainable development. They assist people in gaining access to and developing the capabilities, services, and opportunities required to live a healthy, productive, and otherwise fulfilling life while using natural resources sustainably. SNV, unlike many other development actors, does not provide funding but instead focuses on enhancing development actors’ resourcefulness.
22. Energy 4 Impact
Website: https://energy4impact.org
Energy 4 Impact is a UK-registered non-profit organization which seeks to reduce poverty through accelerated access to energy. It does so by focusing on off-grid energy businesses, including mini-grids. Supported by a head office in London, most of Energy 4 Impact’s staff are based in regional offices in Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal and Benin. In September 2021, Energy 4 Impact merged with Mercy Corps to expand its impact and scale by integrating its expertise across Mercy Corps’ operations in new contexts and geographies.
Energy 4 Impact has operated in Africa for the past 12 years, and has worked with over 100 mini-grid clients. These include private and community-owned developers and operators of village mini-grids, small independent power producers and micro-utilities, government institutions such as rural electrification authorities and electricity regulators, and development agencies and financing institutions.
Energy 4 Impact provides advice to developers on all stages of the mini-grid life cycle, including business and financial modelling, site selection, feasibility studies, community engagement, demand assessment, technical system design, capital raising, equipment procurement, construction, commissioning, and operation and maintenance. Energy 4 Impact helps mini-grid operators to grow demand and offer business, technical and financial mentorship services in the field to small productive users of mini-grids. It also pilots new mini-grid business models, conduct feasibility studies on financial support schemes, and manage grant programs.
Grants are available throughout the year.
23. The Energy and Environment Partnership trust fund (eep africa)
Website: https://eepafrica.org
EEP Africa provides early stage grant and catalytic financing to innovative clean energy projects, technologies and business models in 15 countries across Southern and East Africa. EEP Africa funding is channeled through two windows: Innovation and Catalyst.
EEP Africa is a clean energy financing facility hosted and managed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) with funding from Austria, Finland, NDF and Switzerland. It is guided by a vision for a climate-resilient, zero-carbon future with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the Paris Agreement on climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Grants are available throughout the year.
24. U.S. Embassy in Kenya Ambassador’s Special Self Help Fund
Website: https://ke.usembassy.gov/ambassador-special-self-help-fund/
The Ambassador’s Self-Help Fund (SSHF) provides small grants to registered self-help groups, youth groups, community based organizations, and specific types of educational institutions and medical facilities. Our objective is to assist groups in the development of projects that improve living conditions in their communities.
Grants are available throughout the year.
25. The Gef Small Grants Programe
Website: https://sgp.undp.org/
The program provides grants of up to $50,000 directly to local communities including indigenous people, community-based organizations and other non-governmental groups for projects in Biodiversity, Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation, Land Degradation and Sustainable Forest Management, International Waters and Chemicals.
26. SDG7 RESULTS: Access to Renewable Energy
Website: https://english.rvo.nl
Access to Renewable Energy (‘SDG 7 Results’) is a grant program of the Netherlands Government designed to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. SDG 7 Results provides results-based financing for activities that increase access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG 7).
SDG 7 Results provides result-based grant funding with a minimum of EUR 250,000 and a maximum of EUR 2,500,000. The grant will be paid out in parts only upon positive achievement of the project’s sub-results, subject to verification by an independent party.
27. Ikea Foundation
Website: https://ikeafoundation.org/
We get the best results by working with partners who know the most about the areas we want to support. We support programs managed by knowledgeable, innovative and well-regarded organizations that are experts in their fields.
We are committed to powering communities with renewable energy.
Our grant making is central to the way we work and how we achieve results that contribute to our mission. Occasionally, we make specific donations that are important but not directly related to our mission, for example in the COVID-19 context. You can search for both grants and donations below. Most grants run for several years and we have shown their total value. We decide on annual instalments based on regular reviews.
IKEA Foundation funds projects every year
28. USAID
Website: https://www.usaid.gov/climate/renewable-energy
USAID’s renewable energy programs promote deployment, financing, and grid integration of renewable energy generation as a means to mitigate climate change while lowering costs, spurring economic growth, and increasing access to affordable modern energy services.
USAID are always ready to receive proposals for grants.
29. UN Environment Program
Website: https://www.unep.org/
UNEP helps the finance community to invest in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors through technical assistance and targeted financial support, such project development funding. UNEP brings together “first mover” financiers and renewable energy project developers to share some of the additional costs related to early stage investments and mitigate risks.
UNEP activities help mobilize new and additional investments in clean energy end user finance by providing knowledge and financial tools and building the capacity of financial sector actors, technology providers and government institutions. They also help international climate finance for governments to achieve their national low-carbon development ambitions.
30. Hivos
Website: https://hivos.org
Hivos is a global development agency with humanist principles. We want to help create societies that are fair, inclusive, and capable of supporting life by working with individuals and their organizations to create a world where everyone has access to opportunities, rights, and resources.
The climate catastrophe is not just an environmental problem; it is also a political, social, and ethical one. It results from an unsustainable economic system that unfairly distributes wealth and power. In addition, it makes those who bear the least responsibility for this imbalance more severe. The worst effects of climate change are being felt by those who have contributed the least to its causes—people and nations with poor incomes and long histories of oppression (Climate justice, 2022).
Hivos Approach on Climate
Linking and empowering groups that are disproportionately affected by climate change is the first step in influencing local, regional, and worldwide climate policies. Although they frequently drive change in their communities that are affected by climate change, they are rarely heard in climate decision-making. Women, Native Americans, young people, the underprivileged urban population, and small farmers must own, participate in, and gain from climate action. We thus concentrate on creating a powerful movement of civil society organizations that are willing to come together behind a shared climate agenda and represent a diverse range of constituencies. We take an open-minded, rights-based attitude and value the preservation of all living things.
Hivos on Renewable EnergyEnergia
ENERGIA places women at the center of its efforts to promote universal, equal, and fair access to and control over sustainable energy for all.
Through its Women’s Economic Empowerment Program, ENERGIA, which marked its 25th anniversary, has taught and assisted 8,000 female entrepreneurs by the end of 2021. Four million people in last-mile areas in Africa and Asia now have access to inexpensive energy as a result of their sale of over 450,000 units of renewable energy products.
ENERGIA started a multi-stakeholder coalition with the Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to create a Gender and Energy Compact. The Compact strives to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality in order to hasten a fair, inclusive, and sustainable energy transition. Over 50 people have signed the Compact so far, and more are expected to do so (Energia, 2022).
31. Adaptation fund
Website: https://www.adaptation-fund.org
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are parties to the Kyoto Protocol and are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Adaptation fund has been Helping developing countries build resilience and adapt to climate change. Since 2010, the Adaptation Fund has committed US$ 923.5 million to projects and programs, including 132 concrete projects. This covers nearly 100 countries, including 15 small island developing states and 30 least developed countries, and serves approximately 36 million people. It also pioneered Direct Access, which allows countries to access funding and develop projects through accredited national implementing entities.
32. Africa Renewable Energy Fund (AREF)
https://www.africanpowerplatform.org/financing/grants/1470-africa-renewable-energy-fund-aref.html
The Africa Renewable Energy Fund (AREF) invests into small hydro, wind, geothermal, solar, stranded gas and biomass projects across the developing countries. At its target size, the Fund intends to make 8 to 12 investments in renewable energy projects, aiming for controlling positions in medium-sized projects in all stages of development with an energy output of 5 to 50 MW.
Donors for Africa Renewable Energy Fund include: African Biofuel and Renewable Energy Company (ABREC), African Development Bank (AfDB), Dutch Development Bank (FMO), ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), West African Development Bank (BOAD)
NOTE
Kindly note that this list of donor agencies funding biogas projects in Africa is not exhaustive. Our team at KENPRO will continue to conduct further systematic review of donor agencies funding biogas in Africa’s context.
For Grant Proposal Writing Support Services, kindly Contact our Kenpro Grant Writers (KGWs)
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