The first United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) AFRI CONVERSE session of 2021 recently kicked off with over 150 participants and four speakers from Japan and Africa.

Under the title, ‘Green Economy: Business Opportunities in Africa’, the latest in a series of ongoing AFRI CONVERSE discussions highlighted the importance and urgent need for interventions and support for inclusive green energy and structural transformation on the African continent.

Considering that the current energy production method in Africa relies mostly on coal, burning oil and traditional biomass (charcoal, wood, dry dung fuel), meeting the ever-increasing demand for energy would have severe consequences for health and the environment.

Speaking about Ghana’s Drive Electric Initiative (DEI), Project Coordinator Doris Edem Agbevivi said steps towards clean energy were already being promoted in the country through the National Energy Commission, and that new technological advancements, such as electronically powered transport has also been piloted.

She further added that that e-mobility is essential and in line with the four main tenets of advancing the green economy - low carbon emissions, reducing environmental risks, energy and resource efficiency, and sustainable development. And with favourable policies in place and vehicle assemble company on the ground, she stressed the investment opportunities. 

“We have taken the step to promote e-mobility in Ghana, an initiative we started in 2019 and steadily growing, and wanted to present it to see how we could embrace a partnership to move the initiative forward,” said Agbevivi.

Addressing the business opportunities and challenges of the ‘green economy’ in Africa, Assistant to the General Manager of Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation Risa Suzuki said the ratio of people in sub-Saharan Africa without access to electricity remains as high as  57 percent in 2018, which presents significant opportunities for ‘green energy’ initiatives.

Despite some challenges, Suzuki said the Sumitomo Corporation was determined to continue its support for inclusive ‘green energy’ and structural transformation on the African continent.

“We desire to make a positive and continuous contribution to African society by providing the most appropriate solutions for each region and countries by utilising Sumitomo’s in EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), IPP (Integrated Project Planning), investment in off-grid, and our global network,” said Suzuki.

Highlighting some of the challenges faced in expediting a ‘green economy’ and scaling up access to clean energy in Africa, Mohamed Abchir, UNDP Deputy Country Director, used Benin as an example.

Abchir said that in Benin, there remains a range of important issues to be addressed on the road to a ‘green economy’, two of which were:

• The energy sector is dominated by the use of biomass with low access of the population to modern energy.
• Only 38.4 percent of the population have access to electricity, with a significant disparity between urban (56 percent) and rural (2.4 percent) populations.

“In terms of electricity access, the objective is to achieve urban and rural electrification rates of 95 percent and 65 percent by 2025 respectively while the renewable energy target is 24.6 percent access at national and community level.”

“The good news is that Benin has an extremely ambitious government and a lot of technical capacity in the country. We at UNDP and jointly with our various partners are trying to take advantage of this very favourable environment in Benin. The sense of willingness, ambition and technical capacity are ideal for investors,” said Abchir.

Thanking the panellists for their valuable insights, Hiroto Kamiishi, the Deputy Director General for the Energy and Mining Group Infrastructure Management Department of JICA, said key focus areas for JICA will be to decarbonise power generation, decarbonise the energy sector and support new technologies and business models.

“We will further boost our efforts on sustainable and reliable energy to meet the SGD 7 goals, such as by scaling up mini grids and off grids,” Kamiishi said.

SDG 7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

“We will increase our assistance for new renewables (geothermal, solar and wind etc.) and utilise new technologies while promoting more private investments and preparing and financing bankable projects,” noted Kamiish in his presentation.

AFRI CONVERSE will continue to be held bi-monthly to build momentum for TICAD 8 by mobilizing a wide range of stakeholders from Africa and Japan to engage on the most pressing development issues.