Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund [NDF C104]
The immediate objective and unifying theme is enhanced access to clean energy in the SEA region, with particular focus on supporting poor and underserved groups, through direct financing, investment facilitation, business development support, and knowledge production.
Regional Africa
Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund
Ref.: NDF C104
NDF Financing: EUR 22 million (initial 10 million followed by 12 million additional)
Trust Fund Period: open-ended
Partner Agency: Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA Denmark); Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA Finland), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland (MFA Iceland), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad); Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Implementing Agency: NDF
Objective
This project consists of (1) establishment of the Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund (EEP or Fund) as a multi-donor clean energy financing facility covering 15 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa (SEA) under direct management by NDF and (2) financing of EUR 10 million toward the Fund’s first close.
EEP is a clean energy financing facility providing early stage and catalytic financing primarily for private-sector-led projects in Southern and East Africa (SEA). It was first established as a closed-end programme in 2010 with funding from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA Finland), the UK Department for International Development (DfID) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).
EEP has established a strong brand for delivery and impact, supporting more than 200 pioneering projects leveraging innovative clean energy technologies and energy access business models to transform lives and livelihoods. With the launch of the EEP Trust Fund in January 2018, NDF will ensure that this proven and effective model will remain relevant in a fast changing energy financing landscape.
The new Fund will directly help to realise the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement, while reflecting NDF’s mandate and strategic horizons as a climate finance institution providing financing and knowledge for climate and development.
The Fund will build upon and enhance the successes of the first 7 years of programme delivery. It will establish an open-ended trust fund structure for resource mobilization on a rolling basis, monitoring and reporting impact indicators over a longer time horizon and leverage NDF flexibility to deploy a more diversified set of blended finance instruments.
The Fund’s overall goal is to contribute directly to achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular: No Poverty (SDG 1); Gender Equality (SDG 5); Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7); Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8); and Climate Action (SDG 13). The Fund will report on key indicators underlying each of these goals.
The fund’s more immediate goal is to enhance access to clean energy in the SEA region, especially among poor and underserved communities, by providing direct financing, facilitating investment, supporting business development, sharing knowledge and promoting policy engagement. It is designed to support countries across the region towards a climate-resilient, zero-carbon future.
The Fund will be a driver of sustainable and inclusive green growth and climate change mitigation by supporting countries across the region toward the realization of a climate resilient, zero-carbon future.
Financing
NDF EUR 22 million; MFA Finland EUR 30,4 million; Norad EUR 11,8 million; SDC EUR 8,6 million ADA EUR 7 million, MFA Denmark EUR 6,7 million; MFA Iceland EUR 1,6 million.
Other information
On 3-4 June 2019, the Board of Directors approved additional financing of EUR 12 million with the purpose of addressing immediate funding needs, seeding a second round of commitments from other donors, and providing capital to launch the pilot phase of the Fund’s follow-on investment window, EEP Catalyst. They renewed their commitment in February 2023 with EUR 9,5 million. Austria renewed their commitment in November 2022 with EUR 2 million.
MFA Finland committed an additional EUR 1,9 million in 2019, followed by an additional EUR 4 million in 2021.
In December 2021, SDC joined the fund, contributing EUR 8,572,000. Swiss funding is earmarked for grantees located in Zambia and Zimbabwe.
MFA Iceland joined the fund in May 2022, contributing EUR 1,440,000. The committed an additional EUR 360,000 in 2023. MFA Denmark joined the fund in December 2022, contributing DKK 50 million (approximately EUR 6,7 million). Norad joined the fund in October 2023, contributing NOK 140 million (approximately EUR 11,8 million).
NDF Contact
Program Manager Jussi Viding (jussi.viding@ndf.int)
Telephone +358 10 618 0466
