18 September 2015: Two high-level events hosted at the headquarters of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, explored ways to mobilize funds and foster implementation and partnerships for scaling up sustainable energy and energy access in Africa.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Sustainable Energy Policy and Investment High Level Forum, taking place from 14-18 September 2015, examined ways to mobilize finance for the implementation of Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Action Agendas developed by ECOWAS countries as an implementation tool for the proposed Sustainable Development Goal number 7 (on energy).

The event, which brought together high-level energy sector policy makers, investors and international partners, also discussed enabling environments for sustainable energy financing in the ECOWAS region and saw the launches of: the ECOWAS SE4ALL Network; the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Africa Clean Energy Corridor in the region; and the IRENA Project and Financial Navigator and Sustainable Energy Market Place in West Africa.

The ECOWAS forum was organized within the scope of the SE4ALL initiative by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), AfDB, the Climate Technology Initiative – Private Financing Advisory Network (CTI-PFAN), the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The second event, a high-level stakeholder consultative meeting on the theme ‘Towards a New Deal on Energy for Africa’ took place during the final days of the ECOWAS forum, from 17-18 September.

During the meeting, AfDB launched the ‘New Deal for Energy in Africa,’ aimed at solving Africa’s energy deficit and achieving universal energy access by 2025. The meeting discussed AfDB’s proposal to establish a Transformative Partnership on Energy in Africa, taking the form of a “platform for structured private sector, multilateral and bilateral partnerships and financing to solve Africa’s energy challenge.” [AfDB ECOWAS Event Press Release] [ECOWAS Event Webpage] [AfDB New Deal Event Press Release 1] [AfDB New Deal Event Press Release 2]