The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Sustainable Energy for All have signed a new agreement to accelerate clean energy investment across Africa and other emerging and developing economies.
The partnership, signed in London on 22 June 2026 during London Climate Action Week, will run initially from 2026 to 2028. It is designed to combine EBRD’s investment and private-sector expertise with SEforALL’s country-level experience in energy access, policy support and project implementation.
Key Overview
- The new 2026–2028 partnership will focus on decentralised renewable energy, sustainable cooling, climate resilience, green finance and carbon markets.
- The organisations will explore support for Mission 300, the Universal Energy Facility and the Nigeria Distributed Renewable Energy Fund.
- EBRD aims to deliver at least €150 billion in cumulative green financing by 2030.
- Nearly 600 million people in Africa still lack access to electricity, underlining the scale of the financing challenge.
- Planned areas of work include mini-grids, agricultural cold chains, access to cooling, local green lending and stronger policy frameworks.
Partnership Targets Energy Access and Climate Resilience
The agreement establishes a broad framework for joint work across energy access, climate adaptation and sustainable development. According to the formal announcement, the two organisations will prioritise decentralised renewable energy, green finance, carbon markets, sustainable cooling and climate resilience.
They will also provide policy support, technical assistance and knowledge sharing. This matters because many clean energy projects fail to reach scale not only because of limited capital, but also because of weak regulation, limited project preparation and insufficient institutional capacity.
The partnership therefore goes beyond direct financing. Its wider objective is to help governments create the conditions needed to attract private investment and move projects from policy plans into implementation.
SEforALL has worked in more than 115 countries, supporting energy transition planning, energy efficiency, cooling programmes and universal access initiatives. EBRD, meanwhile, brings experience in financing infrastructure, strengthening local markets and mobilising private-sector capital.
Mini-Grids and Distributed Energy Could Expand Access
Decentralised renewable energy will be one of the central areas of cooperation. Mini-grids and stand-alone solar systems can provide electricity to remote communities where extending national transmission networks is slow or uneconomic.
The partnership will examine ways to support Mission 300, which seeks to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030. The initiative had connected more than 50 million people across 40 countries by June 2026, according to a recent progress update.
The organisations will also consider collaboration through the Universal Energy Facility, a results-based financing platform that pays eligible developers after verified energy connections are delivered.
In Nigeria, the partnership may support the US$500 million distributed renewable energy fund, which is intended to attract private capital into mini-grids, solar home systems, commercial and industrial power projects, embedded generation and energy storage.
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Cooling and Cold Chains Gain Development Priority
The focus on sustainable cooling reflects a wider recognition that electricity access alone is not enough. Reliable cooling is essential for food storage, vaccine preservation, healthcare, industrial productivity and protection from rising temperatures.
The two organisations plan to explore investments in agricultural cold chains and wider access to cooling services. Better cold storage could help reduce food losses, protect farmer incomes and improve food security.
The scale of the challenge is significant. A joint assessment highlighted by the United Nations Environment Programme found that inadequate refrigeration contributed to the loss of 12% of global food production in 2017.
For African economies, expanding climate-friendly cooling systems could therefore support both adaptation and economic development, particularly in agriculture, healthcare and urban services.
Green Finance Could Unlock More Local Capital
A further priority is strengthening domestic financial systems so that banks and other lenders can support more renewable energy and climate-related projects.
Access to affordable capital remains a major barrier across African energy markets. High borrowing costs, currency risks and limited long-term financing can make otherwise viable projects difficult to fund.
The partnership plans to work with local financial institutions to develop green finance products and increase lending for clean technologies. This could reduce reliance on international funding and help create deeper domestic markets for climate investment.
EBRD’s Green Economy Transition Strategy is central to this effort. The bank has committed to scale cumulative green financing to at least €150 billion by 2030, using both its own resources and mobilised private-sector capital.
Implementation Will Determine the Partnership’s Impact
The agreement reflects a broader shift in climate finance from target-setting to delivery. Governments and development institutions have already announced major energy-access and decarbonisation goals, but financing and implementation remain uneven.
The partnership’s success will ultimately depend on whether it produces bankable projects, improves regulatory conditions and attracts private capital at scale.
For African countries, the most important outcomes will be practical: more reliable electricity, stronger food and healthcare systems, expanded business activity and greater resilience to climate shocks.
By combining investment mobilisation with policy and implementation support, EBRD and SEforALL are positioning the partnership as a platform for turning clean energy commitments into measurable development results.
Sources: Sustainable Energy for All / European Bank for Reconstruction and Development / International Energy Agency / World Bank / United Nations Environment Programme
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