Stichting Clean Energy and Energy Inclusion for Africa (CEI Africa), through its Crowdlending Window, has signed a USD 1.5 million junior secured loan agreement with Mionwa Generation SA (OnePower’s special purpose vehicle in Benin) alongside the crowdfunding platform Energise Africa. Energise Africa has raised an additional USD 970 thousand in a senior secured loan for the project and expects to mobilize a further USD 420 thousand. The combined financing package of USD 2.9 million will support the construction of nine solar mini-grid projects across rural communities in Benin. With this financing, Mionwa will construct nine solar power plants with a combined installed capacity of 595 kW and 1.7 MWh of battery storage. Once operational, the solar mini-grids will deliver clean and reliable electricity to approximately 4,700 households and local enterprises. These projects offer a cleaner and more reliable alternative to existing energy sources, improving air quality and lowering carbon emissions while offering 24/7 reliable electricity to the communities.
In addition, CEI Africa has awarded up to USD 972 thousand in results-based financing (RBF) grant funding, while the Universal Energy Facility (UEF), a multi-donor results-based financing facility managed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), has awarded a total results-based financing envelope of USD 1.66 million across five sites.
“This financing marks a major milestone for the OnePower Mionwa portfolio in Benin. By combining CEI Africa’s and UEF’s RBF’s with debt from CEI Africa and Energise Africa, we are able to bring commercially viable, sustainable, utility-grade solar mini-grids to communities that have historically been left behind by the central grid” said Matthew Orosz, CEO of One Power Group.
About OnePower
OnePower is a vertically integrated developer, owner, and operator of distributed renewable-energy utilities expanding across Sub-Saharan Africa from operations in Benin, Lesotho, and Zambia. The company designs, finances, builds, and operates solar-battery mini-grids and hybrid power systems that deliver reliable, affordable, and 24/7 electricity to rural and peri-urban communities that are not served by national grids, supporting household electrification, small businesses, productive use of energy, and community services for education and healthcare.
About Energise Africa
Established with support from UKAid and Virgin Unite in 2017, Energise Africa is a professionally managed Crowdlender with a strong track-record in providing debt capital to SMEs in the access to energy sector across Sub-Saharan Africa. Since incorporation, Energise Africa has provided in excess of £46m in debt funding to 220 projects across 18 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This funding has helped to transform the lives of over a million people through access to clean energy and clean transport.
About CEI Africa
CEI Africa was established by the German development finance institution KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2021 to improve access to energy for rural and peri-urban households and enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022 the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) joined as a contributor to CEI Africa. CEI Africa is managed by Triple Jump and implemented together with partners Persistent and GreenMax Capital Group. CEI Africa works with financers, off-grid solar and mini-grid experts, to develop investment solutions that bridge the financing gap in the most challenging access to energy sub-sectors.
