- Stakeholders at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa event emphasized the importance of increasing green investments in Africa.
- African countries were urged to take responsibility for green energy projects locally and regionally.
- Participants called for support from the global community to facilitate the growth of green investments in Africa.
During the ongoing inaugural Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa event, stakeholders emphasized the importance of Africa’s efforts to boost green investments on the continent.
Participants, including those involved in panel sessions, highlighted the need for African countries to take responsibility for green energy projects at both local and regional levels while seeking support from the global community as a whole.
The consensus among the participants was that increasing green investments in Africa is crucial and should be a shared responsibility.
Africa50 Chief Executive Officer, Alain Ebobissé
The Africa50 CEO said that Africans need to take a lot more actions and implement them faster. He said that one of the things that will make a big difference in Africa is implementation speed, and countries need to look at how other emerging regions have done it and emulate them.
He said:
- “Establishing green infrastructure is not rocket science, although one of the major challenges is mindset change. However, we can do things a bit faster. At Africa50, we have invested in over 22 projects in five years in 16 countries.
- “The speed of execution is possible without compromising on quality, our mantra at Africa50 is – if it is good enough, do it, do not wait for perfection because sometimes people waste too much time to get a perfect project and they forget about the opportunity cost of delayed project implementation.
- “We can correct course along the way and with that kind of mindset, Africa will see a pickup in green infrastructural investments in Africa.”
He also advised on the need to build up a bankable set of projects that could receive funds from investors who are seeking good assets which have been developed for green infrastructure assets in Africa. He also highlighted the fact that African countries also need to seek global partners to support us while also using our own local and regional resources.
All On Energy Chief Executive Officer, Caroline Eboumbou
During her presentation at the Bloomberg event, Ms. Eboumbou emphasized the importance for African countries to strengthen their power grids and utilities as well as off-grid energy access. This point is very important as many Africans on the continent are still lacking electrification access.
According to estimates from the International Energy Agency (IEA), 80% of those living without electricity access lived in sub-Saharan Africa as of 2021. Ms. Eboumbou also said that there are already numerous green energy solutions available that provide energy access to individuals who are not connected to their countries’ power grids.
While these solutions exist, Ms. Eboumbou highlighted the need for Africa to address the issue of high capital costs for mini-grid providers if they wish to expand the mini-grid and off-grid sectors. She acknowledged that subsidies are currently a reality for many off-grid providers, serving as necessary support.
However, she suggested that these subsidies could be gradually phased out in the future. Nonetheless, for the time being, the providers still require them.
GE Gas Power Chief Technology Officer, Otmane Benamar
While supporting green energy growth in Africa, Benamar also pointed out that Africa’s energy mix will need fossil fuels as well. According to Benamar’s analysis, African countries still need to rely on fossil fuels for power generation because renewable energy sources require stability to address their intermittent nature.
He emphasized that certain African countries possess significant reserves of fossil fuels, which can serve as a stepping stone for their energy transition, particularly through the utilization of natural gas. He pointed out that fossil fuels are essential for providing power to consumers and industries on the continent during periods of limited sunlight or wind.
He cited instances in which some Western countries had to resort to fossil fuels due to reduced wind production. Furthermore, drought-induced decreases in hydropower production have also highlighted the continued importance of fossil fuels.
He suggested that African countries should learn from these examples while pursuing their energy transition goals. It is crucial to consider the challenges posed by intermittency in renewable energy sources and ensure a reliable and consistent power supply to meet the needs of their populations and industries.
