BENIN OFF-GRID SOLAR ACCELERATION

Promoter – Financial Intermediary

ENGIE ENERGY ACCESS BENIN SASU

Location

• Benin

Description

The project will finance the deployment of solar home systems in Benin. The solar home systems are composed of a solar panel, a central unit (including battery storage, an energy management system / charge controller and communication technology) and several appliances and will be sold on a payment plan basis to individual beneficiaries located in Benin under pay-as-you-go contracts.

Additionality and Impact

The EIB financing will support the Promoter in providing clean and sustainable energy to currently un-electrified households in Benin, replacing the use of polluting fossil fuel alternatives. The operation thereby contributes to Climate Action, Environmental Sustainability and sustainable economic development goals and is therefore aligned with the current and upcoming National Indicate Programme, as well as with EIB lending priority objectives.

Such clean energy solutions, as financed by this project, suffer from market failures linked to the non-internalisation of the climate, environmental, and health benefits from sustainable energy solutions, which inhibit a stronger uptake of solar home systems and result in an overuse of polluting fossil fuel alternatives.

SHS companies suffer from financing constraints due to the relative novelty of this business model and the credit risk from providing payment plans to low-income clients without formal employment. The resulting difficulty to raise funding restrains the possibility of companies to offer the PAYGo (lease-to-own schemes) which are critical for the affordability of SHS.

EIB financing enables the Promoter to finance the growth of their business and offer affordable rates to end customers. It is expected that the operation will create a very high social benefit, by providing clean and reliable electricity and replacing polluting and harmful off-grid alternatives. The promoter has a solid governance system in place which appears well suited for the governance risks of the promoter's business environment. 

Objectives

The operation aims at facilitating access to energy for households and micro-entrepreneurs in Benin by financing the design, production, distribution, installation and payment plans of about 107 000 Solar Home Systems. These Solar Home Systems provide basic, clean energy services, such as lighting and phone charging to households without grid access, who otherwise have to rely on inferior and more expensive alternatives. The operation is expected to significantly improve the living conditions of the final beneficiaries and thereby generate high development impact

Sector(s)

• Energy - Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Proposed EIB finance (Approximate amount)

EUR 10 million

Total cost (Approximate amount)

EUR 13 million

Environmental aspects

The operation is expected to have overall significant positive environmental and social impact by providing clean energy to households that are currently un-served or under-served by the grid and mostly reliant on polluting and dangerous energy sources. Limited negative environmental impacts could arise from health and safety issues related to the inappropriate handling of batteries (notably at the time of disposal) and disposal of old devices (e.g. kerosene lanterns, candles, flashlights and generators for lighting). Considerable e-waste is only expected to arise from the operation in five to seven years and the Promoter is looking into potential e-waste handling schemes in the country/in the region, to ensure the maximisation of the re-use of components, whilst ensuring the appropriate handling of polluting items like batteries.

Procurement

The Bank will require the Promoter to ensure that implementation of the project will be done in accordance with the Bank's Guide to Procurement.

Status

Signed - 24/05/2022