IFC and Côte d’Ivoire lead public-private dialogue on opportunities to reduce energy gap with renewables

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Oil, Energy and Renewable Energy Development of Côte d’Ivoire have partnered to bring together public and private sector executives in dialogue around how to unlock private investments to achieve the country’s goals in renewable energy.
Côte d’Ivoire has announced it wants renewable energy to represent 42 percent of the country’s energy mix by 2030.
Private sector stakeholders and policy makers at a workshop today in Abidjan discussed putting in place feasible near-term solutions in the renewable energy sector. They discussed policies, market and investment activities and financial innovations needed to attract private investment for renewable energy projects.
The workshop follows the recent IFC publication ‘Creating Markets for Climate Business’, which identifies seven industrial sectors that can have a significant impact if they benefit from private investment. These sectors are renewable energy, off-grid solar and energy storage, agribusiness, green buildings, urban transport, and water and urban waste management.
Thierry Tanoh, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Oil, Energy and Renewable Energy Development said: “Our country has an ambitious agenda to scale up cost-effective and reliable renewable energy. We are pleased to work with IFC to engage the private sector to help achieve our targets.”
Cassandra Colbert, IFC Regional Representative said: “IFC is committed to working with the Ivorian private sector and government to leverage the country as a renewable energy hub for the sub-region and to promote innovative enterprises and contribute to sustainable development.”
Peak demand in electricity in Côte d’Ivoire has been growing by an average rate of 6.9 percent since 2011 and reached almost 1,300MW in December 2016.  The government’s aim is to achieve installed capacity of 4,000 MW in 2020. There is an estimated $10 billion in climate-smart investment potential, $2.7 billion of which is tied to the country’s target to generate 42 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 through hydro, solar and biomass projects.
Addressing climate change is a priority for IFC. Since 2005, IFC has invested $ 18.3 billion of its own funds in long-term financing of climate-friendly projects in and leveraged an additional $ 11 billion from other investors.
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