Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa Foundation (CEI Africa): Crowdlending / Smart Outcomes Fund

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The establishment of the Clean Energy & Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa) Foundation and its funding activities will make an effective contribution to the implementation of a sustainable and socially balanced transformation towards renewable energies in sub-Saharan Africa (Just Energy Transition). The aim is to give households, municipal institutions and businesses in sub-Saharan Africa access to affordable, clean electricity from renewable energies, primarily via reliable island power grids (mini-grids), and thereby contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. This goal is being pursued together with African partners, with public donors and by mobilizing private funds - including from diaspora investors. The CEI Africa Foundation supports projects through two funding windows. In the Crowdlending for Energy Inclusion window, which will initially be endowed with EUR 28 million in budget funds, CEI Africa will support digital credit platforms in the form of loans, partial guarantees or subordinated loans at near-market conditions and will use half of the funds to be contributed to the funding window to promote mini-grids and small off-grid energy solutions based on renewable energies in the target countries. The Smart Outcomes Fund funding window, which will initially be endowed with EUR 21 million, is used for the results-based grant financing of privately operated mini-grids, i.e. the competitive award of grants to mini-grid developers, who are thus given an incentive to invest (equity) capital in the expansion of mini-grids based on renewable energies where it is not (yet) financially sustainable without grants. The selection of countries and locations in sub-Saharan Africa by the foundation is made by the foundation's board of directors based on demand, location suitability and framework conditions.