The African Sustainable Energy Fund (SEFA), hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB), approved a $975,000 grant for Togo to start project CIZO. The project is aimed at establishing rural off-grid electrification through the use of domestic solar kits in PAYGO mode.
The first phase of the rural electrification program, CIZO, which means "enlightening" in Mina, one of the main languages ​​of Togo, aims to create conducive conditions to attract the private sector. This includes the decentralized energy service operators.
The project is expected to enable the deployment of 300,000 individual solar units over a five-year period in the PAYGO mode, in remote rural areas using mobile payment technologies.
Director of the AfDB’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department, Ousseynou Nakoulima, said: "We are pleased to support the government of Togo’s rural electrification program, CIZO, aimed at providing an adequate solution to remote and sparsely populated localities. Funding provided by the SEFA fund will enable capacity building and the implementation of service infrastructure required for the deployment of large-scale solar kits."
Nakoulima added: "This is to prepare the market for the private sector.”