United Nations Donates $10 Million for Renewables to Support Zimbabwe

Just when Zimbabwe has been facing acute power shortages and prolonged darkness hampering the economic activities and the quality of life of the citizens, the United Nations (UN) has made a donation of $10 million to the African country to finance the development of renewable energy projects.

The donation is to enable Zimbabwe to come out of the crippling power situation and also strive towards the development of clean energy sources. The program called ‘The UN SDG- Fund Initiative – Catalysing Investment into Renewable Energy for the Acceleration of the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Zimbabwe’ has been launched today in the capital city of Harare.

According to reports, the funds are made available through the joint sustainable development goals (SDG) fund partners of Zimbabwe that includes UNDP, UN Women and UNCDF. It has been led by UNESCO.

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The green energy projects under the renewable energy fund will be implemented in partnership with the government and financial services group Old Mutual Investment Group. Old Mutual is committing $10 Million and the Zimbabwean Government is committing $1 million through the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ).

The official statement of Edward Kallon, UN Zimbabwe RC, held that this will help attract additional capital from the private sector and Old Mutual as Fund Manager is confident in mobilizing additional resources in order to close the Renewable Fund at $45 million.

The UN said in a statement, “The SDG fund is a US$10 million renewable energy fund that aims to leverage local financial markets to finance renewable energy projects with a return on investment while achieving social impact for the acceleration of SDG achievement in Zimbabwe.”

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The UN further said, “Match funding is expected from other private sector players. For now, we have matching fund commitments from Old Mutual among other financial players. The joint programme hopes to benefit Zimbabwe by increasing access to capital to finance renewable energy projects, the introduction of renewable energy technology with new entrepreneurship opportunities, income and job creation, and improved quality of life and the environment.”

To address capacity gaps and increase access to funding of SMEs in the pre-investment, investment and post-investment stages, the joint programme will leverage partnerships with international renewable capacity-building organisations and local money markets, mentioned the UN.

Zimbabwe faces problems with power supply and power cuts sometimes go up to 22 hours a day. Today, the country is producing about 600 MW of power against an everyday demand of about 2000 MW. The capital city of Harare witnesses 18-hour load shedding these days.