Citi Pledges To Source $2.5 Billion Towards The “Power Africa” Initiative
Citi has committed itself towards sourcing a total of $2.5 billion towards the “Power Africa” initiative which seeks to increase access to power to millions of people living in Africa.
The Power Africa initiative is a multi-stakeholder partnership between the United States Government, Several African countries and public and private sectors investors. The partners are collaborating to ensure that more Africans have access to electricity in the next several years ahead.
Citi also plans to leverage its financing expertise in renewable energy to get more people to adopt and implement the right technologies for specific markets. The bank also plans to collaborate with local capital market stakeholders in introducing innovative debt securities and boost the financial infrastructure.
Through developing the local capital markets, Citi hopes to mobilize more domestic savings and attract more international financial resources towards the “Power Africa” initiative. Through developing its systems and technology, it will improve the payment and collection capabilities of the stakeholders in the “Power Africa” markets. Citi’s goal is to increase efficiency and put more transparency in the whole supply chain.
“We are proud to be a partner in this phenomenal project, an initiative to double the number of people who have access to electricity across Africa. Citi has a unique footprint in Africa and a commitment to enabling progress on the Continent through our technical expertise, financing and risk mitigation tools,” said Jim Cowles, CEO of Citi for the Europe, Middle East and African region.
Currently, Citi has operations in more than 40 African countries and offices in 16 countries like Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania. In just the past two years, Citi has facilitated more than $1.5 billion funding for the African power sector.