The EDF Group, through its subsidiary EDF Renewables, has secured a $10 million senior loan from Mirova, a sustainable investment specialist affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers. This funding will bolster EDF Energy For All, its platform dedicated to providing off-grid solar solutions in Africa, with a particular focus on Togo.
The loan, sourced from Mirova’s Gigaton fund, will enable EDF to expand its operations in African countries including Ivory Coast, Cameroon, South Africa, and Togo, through its joint venture Bboxx EDF Togo. This partnership aims to increase access to solar home kits, water pumps, and solar agricultural systems in rural areas lacking traditional grid connections.
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“Thanks to this support, we will be able to provide carbon-free electricity to 5 million people by 2030,” said Xavier Rouland, director of off-grid projects at EDF Renewables.
This investment comes as over 80% of the world’s population without electricity resides in sub-Saharan Africa, where off-grid solar is becoming a critical solution. According to the World Bank, this model already accounts for 55% of new connections between 2020 and 2022 and will require a cumulative investment of USD 21 billion by 2030 to reach its full potential.
In Togo, Bboxx-EDF has implemented the Cizo rural electrification project. Togo is also actively developing solar energy through other initiatives, including a 26.5 million euro investment from the AfDB for a 62 MWp photovoltaic solar power plant in Sokodé, and the recent commencement of construction on another solar power plant in Dapaong by the Chinese group TBEA.
