The visit to Abuja, a first for Banga in his new role as
President of World Bank, is a clear, tangible step towards realising the
mandate of the World Bank’s new Private Sector Investment Lab, which was
recently announced in June this year.
The Lab was created to identify and focus on specific
approaches that can be implemented and scaled by the World Bank to mobilise
capital more effectively, with the goal of crowding in greater levels of
private finance. Banga chairs the Lab, and Ogunbiyi was appointed as a founding
member.
The duo met with private investors during a roundtable
focused on the role of the private sector in delivering universal energy
access.
They both highlighted the wide spectrum of investment
opportunities in both grid-based and distributed renewable energy (DRE) solutions
that exist in Nigeria and across Africa.
Among the topics discussed was the catalytic role the
Nigeria Energy Transition Plan (ETP) has played in attracting private sector
investment to energy and infrastructure projects in the country.
Nigeria launched its ETP in August 2022, emerging the first
African nation to formulate a comprehensive strategy that seeks to help the
nation transition from harmful fossil fuels to renewable, clean energy; achieve
Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7); and attain net-zero emissions by 2060.
Accordingly, a dedicated Energy Transition Office supported
by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the Global Energy Alliance for
People and Planet (GEAPP) has been established to drive the plan’s activation
and has secured a substantial investment pipeline of $3.8 billion dedicated to
Nigeria’s energy transition initiatives.
The initiative, so far, had engaged with over 200 local and
international partners, providing technical assistance to the Nigerian
government with regards to electric vehicles (EVs) and solarization among other
projects.
Accompanied by Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, Managing Director,
Nigeria Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Banga, Ogunbiyi and investors also
visited innovative clean energy projects near the city of Abuja to showcase
progress made and the high chance of replicating these achievements across the
country.
“Renewable energy solutions hold the key to a sustainable
future, and I am pleased that the World Bank, through Ajay Banga’s leadership,
is focused on scaling transition finance in renewable energy and infrastructure
in the Global South while addressing the barriers preventing private sector
investment in emerging markets,” said Ogunbiyi who also is CEO and Special
Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and
Co-Chair of UN-Energy.
“At SEforALL, we are ready to provide expertise and support
towards catalysing private capital to close energy access gaps and achieve a
clean energy transition,” she added.
Ogunbiyi noted that as Nigeria, like many other nations in
the world, embarks on a critical energy transition journey to tackle the
pressing challenges of energy poverty and climate change, it has become
imperative to highlight the broad spectrum of investment opportunities in
renewable energy solutions in the country, and that the private sector can help
drive innovation, accelerate infrastructure development, and promote the
adoption of renewable energy solutions in Nigeria.
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