The Ghana Energy Awards has recognized the African Development Bank (AfDB) with the Energy Access Leadership Award for its outstanding contributions to Ghana’s energy development. The award was presented on April 16, 2024, at the AfDB’s Ghana Country Office.
The Energy Access Leadership Award acknowledges organizations or individuals leading projects or initiatives that promote rural electrification and sustainable energy practices.
The AfDB received the award for its approval of a $28.49 million grant to support Ghana’s universal electrification goal. The grant will fund the construction of mini-grids, stand-alone solar photovoltaic systems, and solar-based battery facilities.
Mrs. Eyerusalem Fasika, Country Manager for the AfDB, expressed gratitude for the recognition and reiterated the Bank’s commitment to providing institutional, financial, and technical support to Ghana’s energy sector.
She also highlighted ongoing projects and upcoming initiatives, including the preparation of a new Country Strategy paper covering 2024 to 2029 which is expected to be approved by July.
“For the energy mini-grid renewable project, the Bank provided a grant of about US$ 25 million from the African Development Fund, the Bank’s concessionary window. In addition to this support, the Bank has leveraged additional resources through parallel financing from Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. Furthermore, the Bank mobilised about US$ 27 million from the Climate Investment Fund.
She continued, “Currently, the support provided to Ghana’s energy sector consists of hundred percent grants. The Government of Ghana is also contributing to the total cost of the project,” said Ms. Eyerusalem Fasika, Country Manager for the AfDB.
“In our pipeline for the next five years, we plan to implement the Ghana mini-grid Phase Two project and the clean cooking project,” she added.
Ing. Henry Teinor, Event Director of the Ghana Energy Awards, thanked the AfDB for its dedication to Ghana’s energy development and emphasized the importance of collaboration in achieving sector goals.
“We appreciate the African Development Bank’s commitment to Ghana’s energy sector and look forward to continued collaboration to achieve our goals,” he said.
Dr. Kwame Ampofo, a Member of the Awarding Panel, reiterated the importance of recognizing industry players’ contributions to Ghana’s energy development.
He said, the Ghana Energy Awards aims to foster healthy competition and drive progress in the energy sector. We are pleased to recognize the African Development Bank’s outstanding contributions to Ghana’s energy development.
The Ghana Energy Awards, organized by the Energy Media Group, seeks to recognize the contributions of industry players to Ghana’s energy development through healthy competition.
The Awards is fully endorsed by the Ministry of Energy, its allied agencies, and the World Energy Council Ghana.
According to the organizers, nominations for the 8th edition of the prestigious event will open soon, continuing the tradition of celebrating excellence and innovation in Ghana’s energy industry.