African Biofuel and Renewable Energy Company (ABREC) launched of a new pioneering crowd-funding platform for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) operating in the sub-Saharan renewable energy sector.
ABREC is an international organization founded by African states and financial institutions to promote the c transition to clean energy.
The new platform, ABREC.FinanceUtile, developed jointly with FinanceUtile (a leading French crowd-funding platform), is intended to support entrepreneurs and more generally the private sector by facilitating the transfer of know-how and technology, as well as facilitating access to reliable electricity generation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Unlike traditional crowd-funding platforms, ABREC.FinanceUtile will provide more than just access to project finance. Combining ABREC’s knowledge of the African ecosystem and its presence in Africa and France, ABREC.FinanceUtile will be supported by a team of specialists who will evaluate the commercial and technical merits of projects submitted for project financing, consider the levels of project finance required and also provide project management expertise to SMEs to facilitate delivery of their projects.
Applicants which are selected to raise project finance through ABREC.FinanceUtile will be able to seek crowd-funding for an amount between €500,000 and €5 million. Additionally, successful applicants will also be able to draw on advice and support from ABREC.FinanceUtile, including how to structure their financial and business models and receiving general project management/project delivery support.
Successful applicants will be given access to the pair’s commercial networks with a view of assisting successful applicants to explore future opportunities in Africa and Europe.