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Nadi, Fiji, June 13, 2014
— IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has made a US$2 million investment in Sunergise International Limited, a company that supplies solar rooftop energy in the Pacific region. IFC’s investment will allow Sunergise to scale up its business and expand solar installations in Fiji and across the region, including to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, where a stable and affordable power supply will provide a boost to businesses and reduce costs.
“Approximately 50 percent of the power supply in the Pacific is diesel-generated and can readily be replaced with solar power,” said Paul Makumbe, Chief Executive Officer of Sunergise. “IFC’s support will enable us to remain competitive as we expand our operations across the region, where the demand for clean and renewable energy resources continues to grow.”
Access to power is a major challenge across the Pacific, where the energy market is characterized by high electricity costs, heavy reliance on imported petroleum products, and unreliable supply. The region is almost completely dependent on imported fossil fuels, but renewable energy resources are abundant and most Pacific countries receive an average of seven hours of sunshine every day.
A key priority for IFC in the Pacific is to increase access to reliable energy sources, improve energy efficiency and replace the use of fossil fuels with renewable sources.
"Investing in Sunergise enables us to support an innovative business model that brings renewable energy solutions to commercial operations across the Pacific, said Sérgio Pimenta, IFC's Director for East Asia Pacific. “Offering less expensive, cleaner power to customers, with no upfront investment required on their behalf, will provide significant benefits in countries such as Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, where access to affordable, reliable and sustainable power is a major business impediment."
About Sunergise
Sunergise International is a pan-Pacific solar energy provider. Servicing New Zealand, Fiji and the Pacific, Sunergise is on a mission to help the people of the Pacific go solar sooner. Please visit
www.sunergisegroup.com
for more information.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, mobilizing capital in international financial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. In FY12, our investments reached an all-time high of more than $20 billion, leveraging the power of the private sector to create jobs, spark innovation, and tackle the world’s most pressing development challenges. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
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