Less Than $1m Can Transform A Rural Community Says Ndume, Pushes 5% Budget Allocation As ECOWAS Debates Renewable Energy Financing

By Janet Samuel

DAKAR, Senegal,

Fresh calls for innovative financing and stronger political commitment to renewable energy dominated discussions at the ECOWAS Parliamentary joint Committee meeting in Dakar, with lawmakers and energy experts warning that millions of people in rural West Africa could remain without electricity unless investment models are redesigned and funding significantly increased.

Presenting a paper titled, “Innovative High-Impact Financing Models for Renewable Energy: What Strategic Choices Should Be Made in Response to the Energy Crisis? — Case Study: Senegal,” Director General of Senegal’s National Agency for Renewable Energy (ANER), Prof. Diouma Kobor, argued that solving West Africa’s energy challenges requires moving beyond stand-alone projects to building bankable and interconnected portfolios capable of attracting private capital.

He identified rising electricity demand, dependence on imported fossil fuels, grid intermittency and unequal access to energy as factors contributing to a multidimensional crisis that demands a new financing framework.

According to Kobor, Senegal is expected to derive about 28 per cent of its electricity capacity from renewable sources by 2025 and aims to raise the figure to 40 per cent by 2030, backed by €2.5 billion pledged under the country’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

He advocated blended financing models that combine grants, concessional loans, commercial debt and private equity to lower the cost of electricity while reducing investment risks.

He also called for integrating solar, wind, gas, storage and energy efficiency solutions and leveraging the ECOWAS and West African Power Pool frameworks to promote regional energy corridors.

Kobor urged ECOWAS to establish a regional guarantee mechanism and an innovative energy infrastructure fund to de-risk renewable energy projects and lower the cost of capital across member states.

He further proposed the development of “Smart Energy Corridors” linking transport, agriculture and power infrastructure, saying integrated regional investments could position ECOWAS as a leader in Africa’s clean energy transition.

Also speaking on the theme, “Financing Renewable Energy in Rural Areas: Challenges and Opportunities,” Maimouna Sidibe of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) disclosed that renewable energy currently accounts for only four per cent of the bank’s energy portfolio, despite the enormous potential and pressing energy needs in rural communities.

Sidibe explained that EBID had historically concentrated on financing large grid projects, regional interconnections and mature infrastructure with predictable revenues, leaving many small-scale renewable energy projects underserved.

She identified weak project preparation, poor bankability, small project sizes, regulatory bottlenecks and limited access to guarantees as some of the major barriers preventing investments from reaching rural areas.

“The challenge is not the absence of opportunities but making projects financeable and bankable,” she said.

According to her, the bank is repositioning under its 2026-2030 strategy to increase support for solar mini-grids, off-grid systems, hybrid plants, small hydropower projects and productive energy solutions capable of stimulating rural economies.

She noted that blended finance mechanisms and the ECOWAS Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Facility (EREEEF), for which EBID serves as trustee, are expected to help mobilise private investment and expand access to electricity in underserved communities.

Joining the discussion, Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament Committee on Agriculture, Senator Ali Ndume, lamented what he described as the lack of leadership and political will needed to unlock the region’s enormous potential.

Using figures from the EBID presentation, the Nigerian lawmaker said electrifying rural communities through renewable energy was well within the financial capacity of governments.

He noted that a project costing about $7.6 million to provide solar photovoltaic systems to 50 communities translates to less than $1 million per community, arguing that such investments could dramatically transform livelihoods.

“For less than one million dollars, you can modernise a rural area,” Ndume said.

He stressed that rural electrification would not only provide access to electricity but also promote agriculture, improve security, stimulate local economies and reduce migration to urban centres.

“Once you do this, you are bringing rural development, security and agriculture. People will have no reason to leave their communities because development will come to them,” he added.

The senator proposed that ECOWAS countries allocate at least five per cent of their annual budgets to rural development and renewable energy projects, insisting that the impact would be visible within a few years.

Despite the limited powers of the regional parliament, Ndume urged lawmakers to push for stronger financial commitments to the sector.

“We may not have teeth, but we can bite,” he said, pledging to champion similar proposals in Nigeria.

Chairing the session also, Vice Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament Committee on Infrastructure, Hon. Ahmed Munir, called for policies that would promote local manufacturing and industrialisation alongside renewable energy investments.

He argued that climate financing should not only fund projects but also help build industries within West Africa through partnerships between foreign manufacturers and local companies.

Munir who is also a member of the Nigeria house of Representative also advocated harmonised technical standards and regional coordination to prevent member states from pursuing fragmented approaches that weaken the bloc’s bargaining power.

He noted that as much of the climate financing comes from external partners, ECOWAS countries must negotiate strategically to ensure the funds contribute to local value addition and sustainable development.

The discussions highlighted growing concerns that while West Africa possesses abundant renewable energy resources, financing gaps, investment risks and weak institutional frameworks continue to hinder efforts to extend affordable electricity to millions of people, particularly in rural communities.

Participants agreed that stronger regional cooperation, innovative financing mechanisms and greater political commitment would be essential to achieving universal energy access and accelerating economic development across the sub-region.