Mali has received US$1.5 million from the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Programme in Low Income Countries (SREP) of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). The SREP financing will significantly benefit the Project for Scaling-up Renewable Energy in Mali (PAPERM) which is being implemented with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

PAPERM seeks to:

• Improve the policy, legal, regulatory and institutional framework for scaling-up renewable energy investments
• Strengthen the capacities of stakeholders and ensuring knowledge management, communication and advocacy to facilitate the development of renewable energy
• Improve the sub-sector’s monitoring and evaluation system.

The project spans the entire country and will be implemented over a period of three years.

“The AfDB actively participated in the preparation of the SREP investment plan for Mali and will support the implementation of three of the four projects that it contains, including the PAPERM in Mali. Through PAPERM, the bank seeks to support Mali in transforming its energy sector and improving the environment for future investments in renewable energy,” says Alex Rugamba, director of the AfDB’s Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department.

PAPERM has an estimated budget of US$2,6 million and will also benefit from a US$530 000 grant from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa.

The project aptly illustrates that the AfDB can mobilize the various climate funds it manages to create synergies between different funding instruments.

Beneficiaries of the project will ultimately include the National Directorate of Energy and other agencies in Mali’s energy sector.

In addition it will also benefit private and public investors who will benefit from improved strategic, legal and regulatory frameworks.

Mali has substantial renewable energy potential that remains largely untapped. It’s Strategic Framework for Growth and Poverty Reduction 2012-2017, states it will “make renewable energy the main energy source in the country.”