The UAE’s clean energy champion has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Africa50 which will work to bridge the infrastructure funding gap and mobilize public and private finance.
Masdar brings its technical expertise and extensive experience in emerging markets, while Africa50 brings its experience developing projects in Africa, which combined can help unlock Africa’s tremendous clean energy potential.
Signed by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar and Alain Ebobissé, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50 on the sidelines of Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, the agreement will see both parties work collaboratively to catalyze sustainable development of the clean energy sector in Africa.
Masdar, one of the world’s largest clean energy companies and the largest in Africa, committed US$2 billion of equity as part of the UAE finance initiative, which was announced during Africa Climate Summit by Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate.
The initiative brings together public, private, and development capital from UAE institutions, notably from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), Masdar, and AMEA Power.
Africa50 is expected to also join this initiative as a strategic partner.
“We welcome this important partnership with Africa50 which brings a key stakeholder to the table for an inclusive, equitable and just energy transition. We look forward to working with Africa for Africa. The world must continue to close the gap on climate finance for clean energy investment in the global south which is disproportionately affected by climate change,” Sultan Al Jaber said.
Al Jaber emphasized the need for the public and private sectors to work together to deliver clean energy access across Africa – a key mission and objective of Africa50.
This, he said can be accelerated in countries with robust regulatory frameworks, clear transition strategies and a real commitment to developing grid structure.
On his part Masdar CEO Al Ramahi, said that being the largest renewable energy company in Africa through their joint venture with Infinity Power said the partnership will unlock the much needed climate finance for the energy transition.
“Our portfolio today includes Senegal’s first utility-scale wind farm, under Masdar’s Infinity Power Holding platform (IPH), Mauritania’s first and largest solar photovoltaic project, and the development of Africa’s largest wind farm in Egypt with IPH and other partners. With Africa50, Masdar looks forward to unlocking the enormous clean energy potential across the continent,” he said,
Masdar has committed a total of US$10 billion in clean energy finance, of which US$2 billion will be generated from equity, with an additional US$8 billion mobilized from project finance.
The landmark investment will target the delivery of 10GW of clean energy capacity in Africa by 2030.
Alain Ebobissé, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50said the partnership will be crucial in the scaling up and accelerating the delivery of bankable and sustainable infrastructure across Africa.
“We are pleased to join forces with Masdar through this signing. We believe that this step will become one of many, on a journey to drive transformative projects that support Africa’s path to net-zero and help builder cleaner economies for future generations,” Ebobissé said.
Africa50 and Masdar will also explore opportunities to collaborate on the implementation of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) which was launched at COP27 by the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and Africa50.
The UAE investment initiative sits under the umbrella of Etihad 7, a development platform launched by the UAE at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in 2022 and spear-headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
Announced in 2022, Etihad 7 aims to provide 100 million people across the African continent with clean electricity by 2035.
Established in 2006, Masdar is the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse. It is active in over 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of around 20 gigawatts (GW
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