The SADC Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship Support Facility is being implemented in the sixteen-member countries of the SADC and builds on the Memorandum of Understanding between SACREEE and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), signed in February 2017, to support renewable energy market development in the SADC region through capacity building of small to medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs). The Facility has been fully supported financially by IRENA from its inception in 2019 to 2023. In January 2022, SACREEE signed a grant agreement with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) through the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP) for capacity building of SMEs in the renewable energy area in SADC for a period from February 2022 to March 2023.
The Facility serves as a technical support and mentorship platform to address some of the challenges experienced by the entrepreneurs, specifically, to enhance and strengthen the capacity of SMEs in assessing the business potentials of sustainable energy, developing viable business plans and loan requests, managing and maintaining their businesses successfully. Furthermore, the Facility also aims to increase the confidence of financial institutions in sustainable energy systems and create linkages between the entrepreneurs and financial institutions.
The Facility provides Technical Assistance and NOT Financial Support and targets renewable energy entrepreneurs in the SADC Member States.
Specific objectives of the Facility are to:
Strengthen the capabilities of the renewable energy SMEs to adopt sound business practices and facilitate their access to financing in affordable terms;
Strengthen the capacities of financial institutions in appraising renewable energy projects and better understanding the business opportunities of renewable energy technologies;
- Create linkages between entrepreneurs and financial institutions; and
- Stimulate additional support to the Facility from development partners.
Do you want to know more about the SADC Renewable Energy Entrepreneurship Support Facility, Contact Us.
Further link: https://www.irena.org/offgrid/Entrepreneurship-Support-Facility
