By Obiabin Onukwugha
In an effort to shed the status of one of Africa’s least electrified countries, Burkina Faso has secured a €17.2 million financing from the Dutch Development Bank FMO to advance a major solar power project.
The project is backed by €11.2 million in debt from the Dutch development bank FMO, through its Building Prospects Fund and a €6 million concessional package from the African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), comprising a €2.5 million senior concessional loan and a €3.5 million reimbursable grant.
The funding will go toward building and operating an18 MWp solar power plant in Dédougou, marking a key step in the government’s drive to expand renewable energy in Africa and cut dependence on costly, carbon-intensive power sources.
A 2023 World Bank report, quoted by Business Insider Africa, ranked Burkina Faso as the seventh African nation with the lowest electricity access rate, with only 21.7 percent of its population connected to power.
The project is expected to play a pivotal role in transforming Burkina Faso’s energy landscape, delivering a meaningful increase in domestic power generation while reinforcing the stability of the national grid. It will also ease the country’s heavy reliance on thermal plants and electricity imports.
Burkina Faso had relied on neighbouring countries for electricity with close to 40% of its total supply coming primarily from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
This dependence has long undermined the nation’s development prospects, constraining industrial capacity and leaving its growing population vulnerable to external supply disruptions.
The facility will operate under a 25-year power purchase agreement with the state utility SONABEL and forms part of the Desert-to-Power initiative, which aims to deliver 10 GW of solar capacity across the Sahel by 2030.
Business Insider Africa reports that FMO emphasises that its participation is critical, as local commercial banks in Burkina Faso are unable to offer long-term financing on suitable terms.
Classified as an environmental and social Category B+ project, the investment triggers most IFC Performance Standards except PS7, and includes measures to manage economic displacement, maintain community relations, address security risks, and protect biodiversity, particularly important given the region’s fragile security environment.
