The African Development Bank (AfDB) has kicked off a feasibility study, aiming to explore the potential of electric cooperative business models in Nigeria and Ethiopia
The effort is part of AfDB’s goal of achieving universal electricity access across Africa by 2025. Currently, power shortages diminish the region’s GDP growth by two to four per cent per year, holding back job creation and poverty reduction efforts.
The study, funded by the South-South Cooperation Trust Fund, will be conducted by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International over three months. NRECA will consider regulatory, legal, technical and socio-economic factors that impact the creation of electric cooperatives in the two nations.
Batchi Baldeh, director of power systems development at the AfDB, said, “This study is timely and aligned with the bank’s New Deal for Energy in Africa. We look forward to working with NRECA International to execute the study, and to leverage its extensive experience in electricity cooperative business models to pave the way for the implementation of transformational projects across Africa.”
Underscoring the importance of government cooperation and commitment, he added that the cooperatives rely on strong partnerships among governments, rural as well as local communities and development partners for implementation and success.
“We selected Nigeria and Ethiopia following dialogue with their respective ministers of energy during the Bank’s Africa Energy Market Place held in July 2018, where they expressed their governments’ commitment to improving rural access through established models. We rely on this cooperation to explore this innovative model of delivering our High 5 to light up and power Africa”, concluded Baldeh.
