Deadline: 12-May-23
EEP Africa invites companies, start-ups and social enterprises to submit applications for innovative early-stage clean energy projects in active development phase in Southern and Eastern Africa.
Priority Themes
- EEP Africa’s thematic focus takes a holistic approach. Instead of highlighting a single theme as was done in past CfPs, a number of priority themes have been identified that are expected to remain relevant over time. Applicants are expected to address one or more of the following themes in their project proposal:
- Gender & Youth: EEP Africa looks for proposed projects which promote gender equality and youth and create opportunities for women and youth (18-35 years of age) in the clean energy sector whilst also supporting the core business objectives of the applicants. Projects submitted under this theme should therefore incorporate one or more of the following dimensions:
- Inclusion of women and youth in value chains
- Development of women and youth entrepreneurship & leadership
- Promotion of women and youth economic empowerment through productive uses of energy
- Increased access to finance for women and youth (entrepreneurs and/or end users)
- Circular economy & productive uses of energy: Applicants are encouraged to submit projects that create sustainable jobs and increased economic activity through promoting productive uses of energy as well as solutions that drive the circular economy. Solutions promoting:
- productive uses of energy are those that will have a direct net positive impact on the end users’ ability to generate income and increase revenue; and
- the development of a circular economy are those that redesign production and consumption models around reducing, reusing and recycling by leveraging clean energy.
- This can include e.g., waste-to-energy and energy efficiency projects.
- Climate change adaptation & resilience: Enhancing access to clean energy is traditionally linked to climate change mitigation. However, the climate adaptation and resilience co-benefits achieved through investing in early-stage clean energy solutions often outweigh the mitigation impact, especially in the off-grid sector. EEP Africa therefore encourages project proposals which leverage clean energy to implement solutions that help communities to adapt and/or become more resilient to the adverse effects of climate change.
- Leave no one behind (LNOB): EEP Africa strongly supports the LNOB agenda as a central and transformative promise behind the SDGs to 2030. Applicants are therefore encouraged to propose projects which target solutions for those communities and end users at the bottom of the pyramid, especially vulnerable groups that are hardest to reach and marginalised from economic development. Proposed projects can also target fragile and humanitarian contexts, such as communities and end users in regions of conflict and/or refugee camps.
- Gender & Youth: EEP Africa looks for proposed projects which promote gender equality and youth and create opportunities for women and youth (18-35 years of age) in the clean energy sector whilst also supporting the core business objectives of the applicants. Projects submitted under this theme should therefore incorporate one or more of the following dimensions:
Funding Information
- The fund supports access to grant financing between EUR 200,000 to 1 million.
- Project duration: The project implementation period is limited to 24 months after signing the contract. Applicants should propose the project period based on their best estimate of the time necessary to finalise all project activities and report to EEP Africa.
Core Activities
- EEP Africa focuses on three core activities:
- Clean Energy Financing: EEP Africa channels funding through open, competitive calls for proposals, offering both grants and repayable grants on a co-financing basis to early-stage innovative projects that are in active development. There have been 16 Calls for Proposals (CfPs) since 2010.
- Investment Facilitation (IF) and Business Development Support (BDS): In addition to financing, EEP Africa enhances the investment readiness of its grantees through targeted business development services and cohort level trainings. Furthermore, EEP Africa actively facilitates linkages between its grantees and the investor community by providing introductions or by cohosting in-person matchmaking events together with its sector peers, thus offering investors access to a pipeline of investable clean energy projects and enterprises.
- Knowledge, Learning and Partnerships: EEP Africa leverages the lessons learned from its diverse project portfolio to develop knowledge products that advance clean energy understanding and awareness. EEP Africa works closely with partners to amplify lessons and harmonise activities for increased efficiency. Moreover, EEP Africa offers visibility and peer-to-peer learning opportunities for grantees.
Eligibility Criteria
- Private companies, start-ups and social enterprises with early-stage projects in one or more of the EEP Africa target countries (Botswana, Burundi, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) are welcome to apply. All applicants must be registered legal entities for at least six (6) months prior to the EoI opening date. Applicants can be registered in any country but need to demonstrate local engagement. Applications from women entrepreneurs and locally-led organisations are strongly encouraged.
- EEP Africa will also request for approval to share the applicant’s data and relevant project information submitted in the EoI with other clean energy financing and support initiatives. Data shared would include name of company, name and email of the primary contact person, full project title, type of project, country of implementation, project sector and category.
- The objective is to enable applicants to potentially receive relevant assistance from other programmes and funders regardless the outcome of the EEP Africa application process. The applicant can accept or decline the data sharing statement with no impact on the EoI or proposal evaluation.
- Lead applicants
- EEP Africa aims to fund the following types of organisations:
- Private companies
- Start-ups
- Social enterprises
- EEP Africa aims to fund the following types of organisations:
- All applicants must be registered legal entities for at least six months at the time of the EoI opening date. They need to demonstrate strong local engagement and projects should be in active development.
- All applications need to demonstrate a clear need and additionality for EEP Africa financing.
For more information, visit EEP Africa.