19 Countries To Benefit From ECOWAS’ $338.7m Off-grid Electricity Access Project

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has signed a contract with TSC Global, an international African consultancy firm, for the execution of a Regional Off-grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP).

The $338.7million project is financed by the World Bank, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Dutch Cooperation (DGIS) while the ECOWAS Commission, the Regional Center for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) are responsible for implementation.

The CEO/President of TSC Global, Engr. Amara Sackor, said the project aimed to provide off-grid electricity access and affordability to both private and public sectors in 19 countries within the West African region.

Sackor, who spoke on the signing of
contract in Abuja, said with TSC Global/Intech-GOPA/AFC/BB&Co as “Project Fund Manager”, when completed, the project will reduce the regional power gap, assuring that it will be diligently executed in line with ECOWAS and World Bank guidelines.

He said the ROGEAP will, amongst other objectives, promote women empowerment and youth employment and urged these classes of people to seize the opportunities offered through technical training and grants to enhance their lives and contribute positively to regional development.

“The ROGEAP was designed with the objective of providing project countries with needed support to foster a sustainable and scalable off-grid electrification market to meet the electrification needs of unserved populations within the region.

“The contract which underwent a competitive international procurement process stipulated by the World Bank’s procedure saw the emergence of a consortium of companies with TSC Global as the lead firm alongside its implementing partners-Intech-GOPA/AFC/BB and Co.

“ROGEAP is to be implemented in 19 African countries including; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, and Mauritania.

“It aims to increase access to sustainable electricity services in the fifteen ECOWAS member countries and four other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (Mauritania, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad) for households, commercial enterprises, public infrastructure health, education and community by isolated solar systems and all, according to a harmonized regional approach.

“ROGEAP was first initiated in 2017 under the name of Regional Off-Grid Electrification Project (ROGEP), then restructured and relaunched in November 2020 by ECOWAS and its Technical and Financial Partners under its current name of Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project,” Sackor stated.