REEEP

PFAN coaches for success

Johannesburg, 01.07.2010 - REEEP International Secretariat / CTI - PFAN

The Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), initiated by the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI), acts as a financing, coaching and investor matchmaker service to guide clean energy projects to successful close. As part of a current project, REEEP is co-funding the expansion of PFAN’s activities to Mozambique and Uganda. During the course of May, three Project Development & Financing Workshops were held in May 2010 in Kampala, Maputo and Johannesburg.

Mr. Kevin Nassiep, CEO of the South African National Energy Research Institute gave a keynote address at a CTI PFAN workshop.

The workshops took some 16 projects that have been shortlisted to participate in the CTI PFAN Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing (AFRICEF), and began to provide them with expert input from professional advisors, clean energy investors and development banks  on:

• the key elements of a business plan and growth strategy
• expectations and requirements of investors and bankers
• how to prepare and present an investor pitch
• how to target and select investors

These three workshops marked the beginning of intensive one-on-one coaching that the selected project developers will receive over the next 2½ months from professional advisors. The aim: prepare their projects and business plans to be showcased to targeted investors at the CTI PFAN Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing (AFRICEF), which seeks to match promising clean energy projects from Africa with investment and financing, to be held in Johannesburg on 15th September 2010.

The 16 projects were shortlisted to participate in the CTI PFAN AFRICEF process after a regional call for proposals for renewable and clean energy projects, launched earlier this year. The projects were selected on the basis of their commercial viability and interest for investors as well as their potential to produce clean energy sustainably and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while achieving other environmental and developmental benefits. Coming from Uganda (4), Mozambique (4), South Africa (3), Kenya (3), Tanzania and Ghana, the projects represent a total required investment volume of US $155 million and are seeking to raise an aggregate US $38 million of equity investment for the deployment of a range of clean and renewable technologies in the fields of small hydro, biomass to power, gasification, bio-fuels production, biogas, wind and solar. Together the projects have an estimated combined GHG emission reduction potential of 1.5 million tonnes of CO² equivalent per annum.

In all the workshops were attended by 59 participants - 25 in Kampala, 13 in Maputo and 21 in Johannesburg . These included the shortlisted project developers for the AFRICEF Forum, as well as a number of other less advanced  but viable projects submitted under the call for proposals, which have been identified for longer term development and which may be inducted into the CTI PFAN pipeline for ongoing development support and advice.

Participant feedback from the workshops was positive. “CTI PFAN is providing a vital link between energy project developers and potential investors. Without initiatives like this, many energy projects in Africa have absolutely no chance of raising start-up equity,”  said Conrad Nkutu, Chief Executive of Greenewus Energy in Uganda.

Bradford Wills from Dalin Yebo Trading and Development in South Africa had similar views:  “In trying to obtain funding for development of new technology, one often doesn’t know where to look or what to do to start the process. Through this forum, we’ve finally found not only an ear to hear about our great ideas but also a hand to guide us where to go. So I’m confident that with this opportunity our good business ideas will be met with willing investors.”

AFRICEF is sponsored by the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) in cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) and the International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT).  AFRICEF is organised with the support of local Co-Organisers - the Rural Electrification Agency of Uganda, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda Energy for Rural Transformation Programme (PSFU ERT), the Energy Fund of Mozambique (FUNAE) and the South African National Energy Research Institute (SANERI). AFRICEF is managed by PPL International which is also the Global Coordinator for CTI PFAN.