The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of the World Bank Group Guarantees, and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) have announced the creation of the MIGA-ISA Solar Facility – a multi-donor trust fund designed to boost global solar energy adoption.
The trust fund will initially focus on sub-Saharan Africa with plans for later global expansion. The goal is to achieve 300 million new electricity connections in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
Objectives and mechanisms
The MIGA-ISA Solar Facility will provide concessional financing tools, including first-loss instruments and reinsurance capacity, to enhance project bankability and reduce the cost of MIGA guarantees. This collaboration aims to support the development of new solar power and distributed energy projects in eligible developing countries.
“The facility will attract private investment by providing risk mitigation and concessional financing, helping to lower costs and close the energy gap in under-served regions,” says Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President.
Funding and goals
The facility will offer cost-effective risk mitigation instruments to support the expansion of solar projects in ISA member countries. ISA has pledged R17 million in seed funding with a target to raise R178 million for the facility. This initiative is the first programme under ISA’s Global Solar Facility (GSF), which aims to raise R3.5 billion for solar projects across Africa.
Initial project and impact
To mark the launch of the initiative, MIGA and ISA have collaborated in a solar project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This project is expected to lower operating costs by approximately 20% and thus reduce tariffs for customers.
“This is an important milestone in the rollout of ISA’s GSF. We look forward to delivering clean energy through this programme and impacting the lives of millions of Africans who are currently off-grid,” says Ajay Mathur, ISA Director General.
