- InfraCo Africa and Rural Village Energy Solutions (RVE-SOL) today signed a joint Shareholders Agreement committing a total of USD8 million to support the scale up the RVE-SOL’s innovative multi-sector KUDURA Power East Africa (KPEA) business in Kenya.
- InfraCo Africa will become a 40% shareholder of KPEA.
To date, RVE.SOL has established 20 operational mini-grids in the country. With support from InfraCo Africa, the project will build an additional 22 mini-grids across Busia County, in northwest Kenya. Incorporating battery back-up, the mini-grids will range in size from 10 – 60kWp, totalling 512kWp. A modular design enables the company to respond to changing electricity demand over time. The project will empower over 7,000 new rural electricity connections through a mix of densification of existing sites and addition of new mini-grids.
The project is supported by the Green Mini Grid facility Kenya (GMG Kenya), a programme implemented by Agence Française de Développement since 2016 and funded by UKAid and EU Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund. GMG Kenya provided investment support to KUDURA during the early years which resulted in 11 electrified villages and is now expanding the investment to another 22 villages.
This follow on investment is based on the successes in the early phases of the project and will serve rural households, local communities and public lighting in Busia county and contribute significantly to their socio economic development. The project recently secured US$235,000 of grant funding from PIDG Technical Assistance to support a variety of capacity building initiatives.
It is anticipated that the mini-grids will be installed by Q1 2022 with full commissioning expected by Q3 2022. By scaling KPEA’s innovative multi-sector approach to off-grid power, KUDURA mini-grid seeks to attract further private sector investment, demonstrating the added value of adopting a combined approach to the delivery of power, water, street lighting and appliance finance as a catalyst for sustainable rural development.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
