Call for Proposal – EEP Africa

Dear valued client,

We would like to share with you a recent call for proposal that has been released by The Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund (“EEP Africa”).

Who is EEP Africa?

EEP Africa is a clean energy financing facility that provides grant financing for innovative projects, technologies, and business models. By investing in clean energy access, development, and investment, EEP Africa is not only helping to create a climate resilient, zero-carbon future but also creating jobs and improving energy access for millions of people. EEP Africa’s funding originates from various European countries with a shared mission to contribute to the Paris Climate Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

Grant benefit and timeline

The EEP Africa grant benefit ranges from EUR 200,000 to 1 million. Any portion of the grant exceeding EUR 500,000 will automatically be considered a repayable grant. Minimum co-financing of 30% is required or 50% for mature companies or projects requesting more than EUR 500,000.

The first phase of the application process consists of an Expression of Interest (“EoI”) and the due date is 12 May 2023.

Who are they looking to support?

This program seeks applicants who are determined to make a positive impact on the environment.  The EEP Africa target countries include: Botswana, Burundi, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The fund offers potential beneficiaries an opportunity to claim grant financing for projects relating to early-stage innovative clean energy projects in an active development phase. Feasibility studies, pilot project, replications or scale-up projects can apply. Please see below some criteria points to consider for this call for proposal.

Characteristics of projects:

Innovation – The applicant must describe how their project is innovative in terms of technology, product, business model, partnerships, financing, distribution approach, service, or other relevant factors within the market and geographic context of implementation.

Active development – To be considered, the applicant must have actively worked on the proposed project before submitting the EoI.

Additionality – The applicant must demonstrate that their project cannot proceed without EEP Africa funding or other public funding, and that commercial financiers are unlikely to finance it. The grant should serve as a bridge to fill the gap where private sector financing is too risk-averse, and not replace private sector financing. The grant is meant to de-risk the early stages of a promising technology, business, or delivery model, and is therefore justified and necessary.

Locally-driven – The applicant must show a commitment to sustainable long-term local development by ensuring that project implementation, business models, and partnerships are rooted in the local context.

Key focus on technology:

EEP Africa does not have a preference for any specific technology, but all proposed solutions must be based on renewable energy sources such as solar, biomass, wind, hydro, geothermal, or other renewable energy sources. Projects must fall into one of the following groups of technologies:

  • Residential electricity access
  • Productive uses of energy (commercial and/or institutional)
  • Mini grids (AC or DC)
  • Power generation
  • Clean cooking (residential and/or institutional, stoves and/or fuels)
  • Mobility (electric and/or fuels)
  • Energy efficiency

Catalyst encourages you to consider this call for proposal. If you believe your organization has qualifying projects, please contact us to set up a meeting to assess feasibility and discuss how we can assist in accessing these incentives.

Kindly contact us via email on josh@catalystsolutions.co.za or on 0828427310.

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