Friday, 14 October

Dear <<First Name>>

Camco is a huge fan of solar mini-grids. We understand their potential for bridging energy access gaps across the world and have been working hard to support the nascent sector’s growth. So, it was very pleasing to see our efforts recognised in Mini Grids for Half a Billion People: Market Outlook and Handbook for Decision Makers by the World Bank Group's ESMAP, which ranks Camco-managed REPP as one of the most active mini-grid investors. In the listing ranked by number of deals, REPP was second only to our partner and friend, EDFI ElectriFI. 
 
Since 2015, REPP has been working to unlock financing markets for mini-grids. We work closely with developers to help them to scale and reach critical mass, while pioneering innovative financing structures that can be adopted by others. 

We also often work in nascent markets where policy and regulatory frameworks are in early development and where the enabling policy and regulatory environment is critical not only to successful project implementation, but also long-term transformational change. This is why we have also been actively engaged in stakeholder consultations around new mini-grid regulations in Kenya and the updating of the current regulatory framework in Nigeria. We believe that investors’ perspectives could strengthen the ‘bankability’ of regulatory frameworks, ensuring that they will be fit for the purpose of attracting the required private investment needed to deliver national policy goals. 

It is enormously satisfying to see the results of our work starting to show, and I would refer you again to the recently published REPP annual report for more on how REPP-supported mini-grid projects are progressing. 

It is of course a team effort, and I would like to thank the Camco team, REPP’s Investment Committee and Board, our funder Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and our investees for all their hard work and support. 

Cheers 

Geoff Sinclair

Managing Director, Camco 

West Africa

Côte d'Ivoire: African Development Fund to fund electricity access for 500,000 people (AfDB)
- Through its concessional financing window, the bank will release USD10.53 million to secure clean and affordable electricity access to 739 rural communities.

Energy trade: Agreement signed to strengthen regional power trade (ESI Africa)
- The Independent Regulatory Board and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that provides for exchange and sharing of managerial and technical experiences.

Nigeria: Country’s energy transition must prioritise national interest (ThisDay)
- The Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has urged the federal government to ensure that national needs are prioritised in the country's energy transition.

East Africa

Kenya/ Tanzania: Greenpeace Africa calls for consistency in clean energy leadership (Greenpeace)
- The call was made in response to President Ruto's commitment to build a natural gas pipeline from Tanzania’s main city Dar es Salaam to Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, and later Nairobi. 

Mozambique: Seven companies in the running for hydroelectric project (Afrik 21)
- The Mozambican authorities have pre-selected the companies and consortia to finance the 1,500MW Mphanda Nkuwa hydroelectric dam.

Southern Africa

South Africa: Gold mine finishes construction of 50MW solar energy project (CleanTechnica)
- Gold Fields’ South Deep mine in Gauteng is in the process of finalising and commissioning its own solar plant to boost its energy reliability.

Africa - other

Climate: African Development Bank (AfDB) president highlights importance of civil societies (ESI Africa)
- President Dr Akinwumi Adesina claims that civil society organisations are essential partners in the bank’s efforts to build the continent’s resilience to climate change.

Energy access: Almost one billion Africans lack access to clean and affordable energy (PWC)
- According the PWC’s Africa Energy Review 2022, the continent’s is embracing a green pathway but at a pace that will likely fall short of decarbonisation ambitions and be unlikely to meet broader energy access targets.

ESG: ESG and leadership in African business (ESI Africa)
- Op-ed exploring the complexity of successful leadership in the ESG context.

Sahel: FMO grants EUR5.5 million to SolarX for solar energy projects (Afrik 21)
- The Netherlands Development Finance Corporation is providing the funding to develop projects that will supply solar energy to small and medium-sized enterprises in the region. 

Pacific

Climate justice: UN rules Australia violated islander rights (Nature)
- The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found that the Australian government violated the rights of people living on four islands in the Torres Straight and has ordered it to pay for the harm caused.

Energy: Promoting women in the Pacific energy sector (Pina)
- The US Department of State Bureau of Energy Resources Deputy Assistant Secretary, Laura Lochman, has said that “women’s leadership and participation throughout the energy sector has never been more crucial for success”.

Rest of the world

Clean energy: Ember publishes its latest global electricity insights (Ember)
- Amongst other findings, The Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2022 highlights that global electricity demand has increased by 389TWh and renewable generation has increased by 426TWh, whilst fossil fuel generation has increased by 5TWh.

Climate: Let women steer the climate change response (Financial Times)
- Op-ed exploring how greater female input at the policy level and across the financial industry is key to accelerating action

Climate: World Health Organization calls for increased climate resilience for healthcare facilities (WHO)
- The call to action, agreed upon by the organiation and over 20 government leaders, focuses on six areas based on a strategic roadmap to promote healthier populations through clean and sustainable energy.

COP27: The COP of No Return (Project Syndicate)
- Op-ed exploring how, in a world of rising geopolitical tensions and daunting economic challenges, the world must seize the opportunity of the upcoming conference to inspire an approach to mitigation and adaptation that is based on trust, justice and equity. 

COP27: Young women push for greater representation in the climate debate (Financial Times)
- A letter signed by 500 leaders from around the world is calling for a 50-50 split of men and women in the COP27 leadership team.

ESG: Republicans pull USD1 billion from BlackRock over ESG investing concerns (Financial Times)
- Republican states are upset with the company’s green investing policies and the withdrawals have become a political problem. 

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