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REPP issues gender-themed request for proposals
UK-government funded programme is calling for funding applications to support women-owned and/or managed renewable energy projects in Africa
London, 27 November 2019: The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) today issued a gender-themed request for proposals (RFP) targeting women-led renewable energy projects in Africa.
By focusing on women in particular, UK-government funded REPP is aiming to channel sources of funding to help create equal opportunities for women in the continent’s rapidly expanding renewable energy sector.
The call follows a recent report by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor that found there are over 250 million women entrepreneurs globally, with the highest prevalence of emerging female entrepreneurs being in sub-Saharan African – and at more than double the global average.
However, businesswomen across the region face a raft of gender-specific challenges accessing finance, with the African Development Bank previously estimating a $20 billion financing gap for African women.
To address this, the RFP, which opened at 00:01 (UCT) today, is seeking applications exclusively from:
- Majority woman-owned or managed private sector entities that have a renewable energy project under development; and/or,
- Private sector entities or projects whose focus is to promote economic empowerment of women through enabling the productive use of energy for women as end users, and/or access to energy finance for female entrepreneurs.
Successful applicants stand to benefit from a host of financing services and support tailored to their unique circumstances and needs, ranging from technical assistance and capacity building to development loans, gap financing and access to risk mitigation instruments.
Geoff Sinclair, Managing Director at Camco Clean Energy, which manages REPP, said: “Women are central to the growth of a fair, affordable and clean energy future for Africa, but they are currently grossly underrepresented in the renewables sector, just as they are across the energy sector as a whole.
“REPP is seeking to address this damaging imbalance by calling for applications from projects where women are the leaders, the innovators and the beneficiaries, so that we can help provide access to funding to bring their plans to life and help unleash the immense opportunity women offer for economic and social development in Africa.”
The deadline for submitting applications is January 15, 2020 at 4pm (UCT). Detailed information about the application, evaluation and selection process can be found on the REPP website here.
All queries should be emailed to rfp@camco.energy.
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Notes to editors
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About REPP
The Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP) works to mobilise private sector development activity – and investment – in small to medium-sized projects (typically up to 25MW). It is supported with £148m funding from the UK’s International Climate Finance through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) , and to date, has agreed contracts with 24 renewable energy projects across 13 countries, employing six different technologies, from SHS and PV mini-grids to biomass and run-of-river hydro. www.repp.energy
About Camco Clean Energy
Camco Clean Energy is a global leader in sustainable energy projects finance. Its long-established position within Africa’s renewable energy sector enables the company to provide project developers and sponsors with a trusted combination of global access and local presence, enabling them to source the right financing solutions to develop and build projects. Since formation, it has provided creative finance solutions to 180 projects worth $15bn, and in geographies as diverse as Zambia to Malaysia and the US to Uganda. www.camco.energy
About the UK’s International Climate Finance
International Climate Finance is a UK Government commitment to support developing countries to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change. As part of this commitment, the UK is providing at least £5.8bn of ICF between 2016-2020, aiming for an even split between mitigation and adaptation. At the UN Climate Action Summit in New York in September 2019, the Prime Minister announced a doubling of our ICF to £11.6bn for the period 2021 to 2025. This places the UK amongst the world’s leading providers of climate finance. Programmes are focused on:
- Building the resilience of the poorest people and communities
- Ensuring that the vast expansion in infrastructure in developing countries is low-carbon
- Halting deforestation
