Lomé, Togo, July 30, 2018
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced support for the implementation of Togo’s National Electrification Strategy aimed at achieving universal access to modern energy services by 2030. The strategy provides a roadmap for overcoming obstacles to extending Togo’s national grid and creating alternatives to it, especially to remote regions. It also promotes delivering commercially viable business models that mobilize private sector investment, encouraging public-private partnerships, and prioritizing where government funding and blended finance tools can best be channeled.
Today only about 40 percent of the population in Togo has access to electricity, and among the rural population that figure is below 10 percent. The new strategic initiative was endorsed at a high-level meeting in June led by Togo’s Prime Minister Komi Sélom Klassou. Further international support was provided by Ségolène Royal, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for the International Solar Alliance.
Low demand in many parts of the country limits the cost effectiveness of grid expansion. In response, Togo has already started implementing a new approach to increasing energy access. In a program begun last year, installation of 300,000 solar home systems by private companies is underway and is expected to be completed by 2022. The National Electrification Strategy will target connecting all of Togo’s 1.3 million unelectrified households over the next 12 years using a combination of technologies and innovative business models.
Ronke-Amoni Ogunsulire, IFC Country Manager, said, “Togo’s vision for universal energy access is a first in Africa given its focus on both off-grid solutions and on leveraging the private sector. It allows government to identify areas with high potential for mini-grids and solar home systems, to put in place the necessary enabling environment to attract top-tier energy access players to the country and thereby create new markets in Togo.”
A regulatory reform initiative is currently underway and is expected to lead to a pilot auction that aims to have 60 solar mini-grids operational by the end of 2020—resulting in 10,000 new connections---through a flagship public private partnership that can be expanded in subsequent years.
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About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
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