At the AEF, Engie secures €10m to provide solar energy to 643,000 people in Benin
24 Jun 2022

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On the sidelines of the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) currently taking place in Brussels, Engie Energy Access signed a €10 million loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB). This loan will allow the electrification of 643,000 people via solar home systems.

This is one of the first outcomes of the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) which opened on Tuesday 21 June 2022 in Brussels, Belgium. On the sidelines of this event, the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a €10 million loan agreement with Engie Energy Access, the subsidiary of the French group Engie, specialising in rural electrification via stand-alone solar systems.

The loan is intended for Benin. In this West African country, this financing in local currency (the CFA franc, editor’s note) will support the electrification of 643 000 people, mainly in rural areas where the rate of access to electricity is still very low. With a population estimated by the World Bank at 12.12 million in 2020, Benin has an electricity access rate of only 41%. In rural areas, more than 90% of the population still has no access to electricity, according to Power Africa.