Thursday December 10, 2019 – ACE TAF launched its programme activities in Addis Ababa Ethiopia in an event attended by essential public and private sector stakeholders across the off-grid sector including donor and development partners; government ministries departments, and agencies; ACE TAF partners; industry associations; Micro-Finance Institutions(MFI’s), Banks, and support institutions in the sector. The launch officially introduced the programme and its planned activities to key stakeholders in the stand-alone solar sector in the country. It also marked the beginning of a series of planned interventions across the three years to catalyze private sector delivery of stand-alone solar products in Ethiopia.
H.E. Dr Frehiwot Woldehanna, the State Minister for Energy giving his opening remarks during the launch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Speaking during his opening remarks, H.E. Dr Frehiwot Woldehanna, highlighted that the National Electrification Plan (NEP 2) aims to reach 35% of the population with off-grid solutions, namely stand-alone solar systems and mini-grids. To meet the target of universal access by 2025, he added that the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) looks forward to working with all development partners to improve the enabling environment and promote private sector investment in off-grid solar.
The launch was organized in collaboration with DFID Ethiopia office and the Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Electricity with H.E. Dr Frehiwot Woldehanna, the State Minister for Energy as the chief guest. Mr Mark Jorge, Economic Development Team Leader for DFID Ethiopia, also gave a brief remark, underlining the compact document as a framework of collaboration between the U.K. government and GoE to provide access to clean & affordable energy through a stand-alone solar solution.
