FP148

Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF")

Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF")

  • Status Under implementation
  • Date approved 13 Nov 2020 at B.27
  • Est. completion 04 May 2026
  • ESS Category Intermediation 3

Sub-Saharan Africa faces unique and acute challenges in the global fight to mitigate and adapt to climate change. On one front, the impacts of climate change are predicted to be more severe. At the same time, 548 million people in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity and instead have to rely on kerosene and diesel generators for lighting, while another 900 million (85% of the population) lack access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, causing rapid deforestation. In this context, energy access companies in the region are playing a major role in providing clean energy access to vulnerable people, but they now find their continued existence in peril due to the economic effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

As the energy access sector has matured and scaled up over the years, it has shifted the development pathway of Africa towards a renewable future. This has entailed replacing gas generators with powerful solar home systems, fuelwood stoves with electric pressure cookers, and diesel water pumps with solar-powered irrigation. 

The Energy Access Relief Facility (“EARF”) is a concessional debt fund that is intended to provide energy access companies with vital liquidity during this crisis, in the form of low-interest, unsecured junior loans.  GCF will channel its investment into Climate CV, which, in turn, will participate in EARF loans to eligible companies operating in NOL countries. The aim of these loans is to help companies remain solvent, maintain staff and supply lines, be positioned to drive the post-COVID-19 recovery, and reduce 1.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂eq) in emissions. 

Total project value

 

Tonnes of emissions avoided

 

Theme

Mitigation

Result areas

Project timeline

Pipeline

10 Jul 2020 - 127 days

Funding proposal received

10 Jul 2020

Legal opinion on AE's Internal Approval

31 Aug 2020

Cleared by GCF Secretariat

25 Sep 2020

Cleared by iTAP

19 Oct 2020

Approved

13 Nov 2020 - 357 days

Approved by GCF Board

13 Nov 2020

FAA executed

09 Jul 2021

Under implementation

04 Nov 2021 - 1,100 days so far

FAA effective

04 Nov 2021

Disbursement - USD 20,000,000

28 Feb 2022

Disbursement - USD 9,672,000

13 Dec 2022

To be completed

04 May 2026 - 543 days to go

One region

  • Africa

Nine countries

Two priority groups

  • Least Developed Countries
  • African States
USD  
  • Financing
    • Private sector
    • Public sector
  • Size
    • Micro
    • Small
    • Medium
    • Large

GCF financing99% disbursed

InstrumentAmount
EquityUSD 30,000,000
Total GCF Financing
USD 30,000,000

Co-financing

Co-financerInstrumentAmount
Co-FinancingLoanUSD 13,150,000
Co-FinancingGrantUSD 3,700,000
Co-FinancingLoanUSD 13,150,000
Total Co-Financing
USD 30,000,000

GCF Contacts

General media inquiries

GCF Communications
Send e-mail

Request for information

GCF Information Disclosure
Request information about this project

Project complaints and grievances

GCF Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM)
Phone +82 32 458 6186 (KST)
File a complaint

Integrity issues

GCF Independent Integrity Unity (IIU)
Phone +82 32 458 6714 (KST)
Send e-mail

Entity

Acumen Fund, Inc.
Ms. Lynn Roland
Primary

General Counsel
Phone +1 (212) 566-8821
lroland@acumen.org
Mr. Samuel Jewett
Secondary

ESG Insights Manager
40 Worth Street, Suite 303, New York, United States
Phone +1(612)505-8006
sjewett@acumen.org
More contacts

National Designated Authority

Democratic Republic of the Congo (the)
National Coordination of the Green Climate Fund
Prof. Isaac KALONDA KANYAMA Primary
National Coordinator and GCF Focal Point for the Democratric Republic of the Congo
Ms. Francine KATANGA MUTANDA Secondary
Deputy GCF Coordinator
Kenya
The National Treasury
Dr Chris Kiptoo Primary
Principal Secretary
Treasury Building 12th Floor, Harambee Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya
Phone +254 20 224 0051
pstnt@treasury.go.ke
Mr. Malik Aman Secondary
Programme Manager, National Coordination (FLLoCA)
Phone +254 720 771774
malikaman@me.com
Mr. Peter Odhengo Secondary
Senior Policy Advisor, Climate Finance
Phone +254 722 984 992
odhengo@gmail.com
Mr. Hillary Korir Secondary
Senior Economist
Phone +254 722 644736
hillary.korir@treasury.go.ke
Mozambique
Ministry of Economy and Finance – National Directorate for Monitoring and Evaluation
Mr. Albano Manjate Primary
Deputy National Director of Monitoring and Evaluation
Phone +258 828969570
Phone +258 843969570
albanomanjate@gmail.com
Nigeria
National Council on Climate Change
Chief Ajuri Ngelale Primary
Special Presidential Envoy on Climate Action (SPEC)
Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, State House, Abuja, Nigeria
Phone +2349092925830
spec.ngelale@statehouse.gov.ng
Dr. Nkiruka Maduekwe Primary
Director-General and Chief Executive Officer
14 Vistula Close, Maitama, FCT, Abuja, Nigeria
Phone +2349062000294
ncmaduekwe@natccc.gov.ng
Rwanda
Rwanda Environment Management Authority
Mrs. Juliet Kabera Primary
Director General
Senegal
Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development
Ms. Madeleine Sarr Primary
Head of Climate Change Division
Parc Forestier de Hann, B.P. 4055 Dakar, Senegal, Dakar, Senegal
Sierra Leone
Environment Protection Agency
Dr. Abu-Bakar Massaquoi Primary
Executive Chairman
92 Dundas Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Mr. Sheku Kanneh Secondary
Chief Director
92 Dundas Street, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Uganda
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Mr. Ramathan Ggoobi Primary
Permanent Secretary / Secretary to the Treasury
Phone +256414707135
ramathan.ggoobi@finance.go.ug
Ms. Maris Wanyera Secondary
Ag. Director Debt and Cash Policy
Phone +256772426456
maris.wanyera@finance.go.ug
Mr. Juvenal Muhumuza Secondary
Ag. Commissioner, Development Assistance and Regional Cooperation Department
Phone +256781051485
juvenal.muhumuza@finance.go.ug
Mr. Denis Mugagga Secondary
Head, Climate Finance Unit
Phone +256782805422
Phone +256702440655
denis.mugagga@finance.go.ug
Zambia
Ministry of Green Economy and Environment
Mr. Billy Katontoka Primary
National Coordinator
Phone +260 211 252625
Phone +260 97 5366274
billy.katontoka@mgee.gov.zm
Ms. Brenda Simainga Secondary
Environmental Specialist Readiness Support
Phone +260 211 252625
Phone +260 97 2823232
brenda.simainga@mgee.gov.zm

News + Stories

The growing urgency of funding off-grid solar: Exploring the multi-billion dollar investment opportunity in achieving climate and energy access goals

02 Feb 2022 /

GCF boosts COVID-19 low-carbon energy relief with anchor investment

01 Sep 2021 / Green Climate Fund (GCF) backing has been crucial in an emergency relief fund launched today that shields clean energy companies in developing countries from COVID-19 economic shocks to keep low-carbon trajectories on track. The USD 80 million Energy Access Relief Fund (EARF) has drawn together a unique coalition of financial support for 90 companies in Africa and Asia that have been filling energy access gaps with low-carbon solutions but now face bankruptcy form the COIVD-19 fallout. EARF will keep these companies financially solvent by providing them with short-term loans.