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Microfinance bodies enter renewable energy funding
What you need to know:
- Microfinance institutions have started backing renewable energy financing
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s target of generating 6,000MW of electricity by 2025 is increasingly receiving a shot in the arm after several microfinance institutions started supporting renewable energy financing at the grassroots.
The institutions, which are members of the Tanzania Association of Microfinance Institutions (Tamfi), include Enokwe Finance Ltd, Samekaya Saccos, Vision Fund Microfinance Bank, Maendeleo Bank, BRAC Tanzania Finance Ltd, Tujijenge Microfinance Ltd, Engishon Microfinance Ltd and HP Finance.
Currently, the various plants connected to the national grid have the capacity of producing 1,872.04 Megawatts, being a 10.5 percent improvement from the 1,694.55 Megawatts that were reportedly available at the end of the 2021/22 financial year.
The country also produces several megawatts through off-grid renewable energy projects.
But Tamfi said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that by rolling out renewable energy products and services, the institutions would play a vital role in the attainment of the government’s electricity generation goal.
“Tamfi is pleased with the positive response from several financial institutions in Tanzania towards renewable energy financing for end users,” the Tamfi chief executive officer, Ms Winnie Terry (pictured).
Tamfi, which is a not-for-profit umbrella organisation for microfinance institutions in Tanzania, has been promoting decentralised renewable energy financing in the country.
According to Ms Terry, Tamfi members were lending to end-users for renewable energy under a project supported by the C.S. Mott Foundation, which is committed to building an inclusive financial ecosystem for end-users and enterprises in Tanzania.
Tamfi has been implementing the first and second phases of the Energy Access: Building an Innovative Financial Ecosystem for Enterprises and End Users project.
“This project has increased awareness of the need for renewable energy financing among FIs, and it is expected to positively impact Tanzania’s economic development, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability,” she said yesterday.
The managing director of Enokwe Finance Limited, Richard Nyamonge, said they were committed to finance renewable energy to end users.
“In our role as a financial institution, we bear the responsibility of endorsing sustainable practices. Financing renewable energy projects is one approach towards fulfilling this responsibility. We take immense pride in contributing to the progression towards a more ecologically responsible and sustainable future for Tanzania,” he said.
