Norfund has closed an investment agreement with the mini-grid company We Light. The aim is to build mini-grids in hundreds of villages in Madagascar, and thereby improve the rural population’s access to cheaper and more reliable electricity – at work and at home. We Light will also explore opportunities elsewhere in Africa.

To date, approximately 500 000 households have solar home systems in Madagascar. We Light’s hybrid plants, with solar, battery and diesel generators are very flexible and scalable. They can optimize electricity generation as best suited to the load pattern of the customers, and thereby be a reliable and cost-effective source of electricity for the village.

For the rural population, this means amongst others that kerosene lamps can be replaced with safe lamps with improved light. Mobile phones and computers can be charged whenever needed, and the public information will become easily available through internet, TV and radio.

The …

M-KOPA, the Kenyan pay-as-you-go solar company has this week completed the rollout in Kenya of its new fridges to all 65 its retail outlets. It is available as part of the company’s M-KOPA MK6500 system, with daily payments of only KSh 165.

This ground-breaking 100L fridge was developed specifically for Africa in partnership with   Embraco Nidec, a global cooling brand and part of Nidec Global Appliance. It won the Unit Cost Affordability Prize in the 2019 Global Leap Awards for off-grid appliances.

The Younma-branded fridge features Embraco’s innovative DC compressor, which provides lower starting power and greater energy efficiency, compared to a traditional model. It was developed with support from Shell Foundation in partnership with UKAID and USAID.

M-KOPA Customer, Esther Mutua says “Before I got the fridge, I was selling one [drinks] crate per week, but now, because I have a fridge, I sell two or three more crates …

Egypt said on Saturday it had signed several multimillion-dollar energy investment accords including a $430-million gas deal with Texas’ Noble Energy.

The deal will allow the Texas-based Noble Energy to pump natural gas through the East Mediterranean Gas Company’s pipeline.

Under another agreement with Noble Energy, the energy company in partnership with the Egyptian company Dolphinus Holdings will manufacture petroleum products. The project will be also be financed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.

Egypt’s cabinet detailed the plans at the end of an Africa investment forum held on the site of the new Egypt’s planned administrative capital in the desert east of Cairo.

Lekela, Amsterdam-based company also announced it would start construction work on its West Bakr wind power plant, which will require a total investment of $350 million with a capacity of 250 megawatts.
According to the cabinet statement, Chris Antonopoulos, Lekela CEO said Siemens Gamesa would …

Africa needs cumulative investments of $2.6 trillion between 2019 and 2040 to meet the rising energy demand and provide more accessible facilities to citizens as the continent’s population expands report shows.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its Africa Energy Outlook 2019 report, in which it said that Africa is experiencing the fastest progression of urbanisation in the world. While accounting for half of the global increase, the report said that Africa’s overall population is projected to expand by 600 million before 2040.

According to the report, the shifts will drive the continent’s economic growth, infrastructure development and energy demand, which is predicted to rise by 60 per cent.

“While this energy gap remains a significant barrier to Africa’s sustained economic development, it inversely presents several opportunities for many African nations such as current advancements in the liquefied gas (LNG) market, potential for realising onshore value, while simultaneously driving …

Rwanda’s Cabinet approved an agreement with Russia to advance the use of nuclear energy for “peaceful purposes.”

This agreement is expected to bolster relations between the two countries and advance Russia’s interests in the region.

In December last year, the two countries first signed the nuclear energy deal in Moscow which was to see Russian scientists set up a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology in Kigali.

In May early this year, Rosatom Global a Russian government nuclear parastatal reached an agreement to set up the nuclear plant by 2024. The Russian government says it will help in the advancement of technology in agriculture, energy production and environmental protection in Rwanda.

A Russian press reported that in June, Rwanda started negotiations to purchase Russian missile defence systems and signed agreements to develop a military simulation and training centre in Kigali.

Also Read: Russia and Uganda sign nuclear deal

The deal …

The large-scale mining industry in Tanzania just got interesting.

On October 20th, the government of Tanzania and the mining companies previously managed by Acacia Mining, but now managed by Barrick Gold Corporation, strike a new partnership, to settle all disputes, which saw major reforms in the sub-sector in the past 3 years.

According to the government of Tanzania, the agreements have been submitted to the Tanzanian attorney general for review and legalization.

The new partnership comes, after—Acacia (now Barrick Gold), Tanzania’s largest gold producer was cleared by the Magufuli government and resumed its metal concentrates exportation after a series of regulations led by The Mining Commission of Tanzania Ministry of Minerals that impeded the export of the mineral.

Further, according to Barrick Gold, the terms of the agreement include payment of $300 million to settle all outstanding tax and other disputes; the lifting of the concentrate export ban; the sharing …