The ECOWAS Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), the Climate Technology Initiative . Private Financing Advisory Network (CTI PFAN) and the Regional Clean Energy Investment Initiative (RCEII) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), together with their West Africa CTI PFAN partners are inviting West African entrepreneurs with promising clean energy projects (renewable energy resources and energy efficiency) to enter into a Business Plan Competition – the West Africa Forum for Clean Energy Financing (WAFCEF).
WAFCEF is being promoted by ECREEE, CTI PFAN, RCEII together with the African Development Bank (AfDB) through its Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), Banque Oeste Africaine de Developpement (BOAD), and the African Biofuels and Renewable Energy Company (ABREC), which is affiliated with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID).
The purpose of the Forum is to identify and nurture entrepreneurs, start-up companies and existing companies with promising clean energy projects by linking them with investors and financiers. West African businesses selected through the Business Plan Competition will receive free mentoring to help them polish their business plans, develop convincing investment pitches, and formulate a commercially, financially, socially and environmentally viable growth strategy that in turn will significantly enhance the possibility of obtaining financing.
WAFCEF will be held in Accra, Ghana over three days during the week of October 7, 2013, with final dates to be announced no later than July 1, 2013. At the Forum, five to ten (5-10) qualified projects will have the opportunity to present their Business Plans to invited investors and make a pitch for financing. As part of the competition, an Expert Panel including investors, industry specialists and business executives with a keen interest in enabling cleaner and greener projects in West Africa, will judge the Finalists’ presentations and select the top three (3) projects for the West African Clean Energy Financing Awards.
Prior to the Business Plan Competition Awards, all Investment Forum participants will be invited to attend a one-day Dialogue on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency which will provide an opportunity for dialogue with policymakers on policies, regulations and laws and investment in clean energy in West Africa.
- Biomass
- Biogas
- Bio-fuels
- Clean Transport
- Distributed and Off-grid Generation
- Energy Access
- Energy Storage and Conservation
- Energy Efficiency
- Geothermal power and thermal energy
- Hydroelectric power
- Rural Electrification
- Tidal /Wave /Ocean power
- Solar power and thermal energy
- Waste-to-Energy
- Wind power
- Greenfield andbrownfield utility projects and distributed generation projects;
- New business ventures;
- Deployment of an existing clean technology;
- Commercialization of a new clean technology;
- Merger, acquisition or joint venture that will add value to an existing clean energy business;
- Other innovative proposals and business models focused on clean energy that have positive development impacts and result in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions.