$2.9m GEF and UNDP power project to benefit 47,540 women alone
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Up to 96,380 people – 47,540 of them women – are to benefit from a five-year rural electrification project which has begun in Nigeria, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The project, called “Derisking Sustainable Off-grid Lighting Solution in Nigeria”, the brain child of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), was launched in Abuja.
Those present at the launch included REA Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Salihijo Ahmed, Rural Electrification Fund Executive Director Sanusi Ohiare; UNDP representative Mohamad Yahya, and Derisking Sustainable Off-grid Lighting Solution in Nigeria Project Manager Bala Tyoden.
The partners disclosed that the project is financed with $2.6 million from the GEF and $300,000 from the UNDP.
Ahmad expressed the need for effective collaborations in achieving rural electrification and commended the financial support from the GEF and the UNDP.
He reiterated the imperative of rural electrification to national development and urged the private sector to invest in renewable energy in Nigeria.
Ohiare explained the objectives of the scheme as well as its immense positive impact on the socio-economic development of rural dwellers, and tasked the technical working groups to ensure the project succeeds.
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Renewable energy technologies
Yahya expressed optimism that the project would succeed considering the commitment of the partners and the zeal to achieve result.
Tyoden said the project is designed to develop a private sector-led technology value-chain to make off-grid renewable energy technologies – such as solar lanterns and solar home systems – available to rural households that may not be electrified until after 2025.
“The main aim of the project is to promote private sector investment in sustainable off-grid lighting technologies by establishing a sound policy environment that facilitates the creation of a self-functioning and sustainable market in Nigeria,” he added, per The PUNCH.
According to him, the project would directly support the implementation of the Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (2016) as well as the energy access targets in the SE4All Investment Prospectus.
