- The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) will finance Ignite , an infrastructure development company which aims to provide energy access to rural populations in Mozambique.
- This is in line with the country’s ‘Energy for All’ programme.
Executive director Pedro Coutinho of Source Capital, a company that finances Ignite Mozambique, says DBSA’s support will be divided into two phases. A first phase, budgeted at around US$2.2 million, is expected to finance around 30,000 solar system installations. Depending on its success, a second disbursement may reach US$30 million.
The original agreement between Ignite and Mozambique’s Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy was signed in February 2019 set out a plan to reach 1.8 million Mozambicans. The added DBSA financing will now extend the reach to 2.5 million people across the country.
At the moment, basic lighting systems capable of supplying three globes are being installed, at a monthly cost of 300.00 meticais for a period of three years.
So far, about 7,000 installations have been carried out in districts of Zambézia and Niassa provinces. By the end of this year, the number is expected to rise to 12,500, and the project will expand to the provinces of Sofala and Manica.
“Based on the experience we have, I would say that our ambition is, in the second year, to stabilise at around 50,000 to 60,000 connections per year,” Coutinho says, reflecting the optimism regarding the impact of the new funding on the project.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
