Ajay Banga, Damilola Ogunbiyi ask private sector stakeholders to invest in clean energy

The World Bank and Sustainable Energy For All (SEforALL) have expressed their intention to mobilise private sector finance for clean energy investments in Africa.

Ajay Banga, World Bank president, and Damilola Ogunbiyi, chief executive officer (CEO) of SEforALL, met with private sector stakeholders in Abuja on Friday to discuss funding for African countries’ energy, climate and development goals. 

Banga, who embarked on a three-day visit to Nigeria on Wednesday, said he hopes to work towards realising the mandate of the World Bank’s new private sector investment lab.

The lab was created to identify and focus on specific approaches that can be implemented to mobilise capital more effectively. 

At the meeting with private investors, Banga who chairs the lab, and Ogunbiyi, a founding member, emphasised the role of the private sector in delivering universal energy access.

They highlighted the wide spectrum of investment opportunities in both grid-based and distributed renewable energy (DRE) solutions that exist in Nigeria and across Africa.  

They also discussed the role Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan (ETP) has played in attracting private sector investment to energy and infrastructure projects including securing a substantial investment pipeline of $3.8 billion dedicated to Nigeria’s energy transition initiatives.

Ogunbiyi said renewable energy is key to a sustainable energy future in the Global South, adding that she is pleased that the World Bank is taking the lead in scaling transition finance.

“At SEforALL, we are ready to provide expertise and support towards catalysing private capital to close energy access gaps and achieve a clean energy transition,”  she said.

Ogunbiyi noted that as Nigeria embarks on an energy transition journey to tackle the pressing challenges of energy poverty and climate change, it has become imperative to highlight the broad spectrum of investment opportunities in renewable energy solutions. 

She said the private sector can help drive innovation, accelerate infrastructure development, and promote the adoption of renewable energy solutions in Nigeria.