Expanding Renewable Energy for Access and Development: The Role of Development Finance Institutions in Southern Africa

As countries in Southern Africa recover from the COVID-19 crisis and mobilize to ensure resilience and sustainability are built into their economies, reinvigorating development finance to invest in renewable energy and energy access will be essential for the people and countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). SADC countries face enormous opportunities and challenges in developing their energy infrastructure over the next decades to power development and provide access to all.    

The region currently lacks a reliable supply of energy and electricity, and what energy is available is not easily accessible by across the SADC region; eight out of the 16 SADC countries have less than 50 percent electricity access, and some countries, such as Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have less than 20 percent access.

In order for SADC to meet the needs and aspirations of its people, there is a need for a significant increase in investments into the energy sector in general, and renewable energy in particular. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), such as development banks, granting agencies, and export credit agencies, have a seminal role to play in financing the expansion and structural transformation that SADC’s energy sector requires.            

How can DFIs play a key role in the region’s clean-energy transformation? What are the barriers to investment in renewable energy and how are DFIs uniquely poised to overcome those barriers?

Join us Thursday, 19 November, for the launch of the report ‘Expanding Renewable Energy for Access and Development: The Role of Development Finance Institutions in Southern Africa,’ featuring a discussion of the study and Q&A with the audience.

Speakers:

• Kevin P. Gallagher – Director, Global Development Policy Center; Professor, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University (Moderator)
• Kudakwashe (Kuda) Ndhlukula – Executive Director, Southern African Development Community Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE)
• Mapolao Mokoena – Director of Infrastructure, Southern African Development Community Secretariat
• Lucy Chege – Head: Energy, Environment & ICT, Development Bank of Southern Africa
• Antonio Osvaldo Saide – CEO, FUNAE, Mozambique Energy Fund

STARTS:

7:30 am EST//2:30 SAST on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020

ENDS:

8:30 am EST//3:30 SAST on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020

LOCATION:

Via Zoom

REGISTRATION:

https://bostonu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FaKBqlDfQne8ldFXepJTsw