On Friday the 14th of September the Head of Cooperation, Mikael Elofsson, launched the 50 million SEK Swedish funded Challenge Fund REACT SSA. The programme aims to provide financial and technical assistance to innovative businesses in renewable energy and energy efficiency, in Mozambique.
REACT SSA (Renewable Energy and Adaption to Climate Change Technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa) is a Sida and AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund) funded programme with the aim to catalyze the access to low cost, high quality energy in poor households especially in rural areas in 9 Sub – Saharan countries. The agreement between Sida and AECF is expected to reach people outside of the grid through new business models to increase people’s living standards in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
In his launching speech of REACT SSA Mozambique, Mr Elofsson, Head of Cooperation at the Swedish Embassy, pointed out that 20 million people in Mozambique still lives without electricity, relying on energy sources such as kerosene and batteries that are harmful for both the environment and people’s lives. Mr Elofsson highlights the importance of electrification especially in poor rural areas, and that REACT SSA will help to improve the living standard for people in these areas, particularly women.
“As most of you know, Sweden is a long standing and strategic partner to Mozambique. In the energy sector, Sweden has for 40 years provided support with the aim to reach greater access to energy and contribute to the improvement of living conditions for poor people” – Mikael Elofsson
The five-year agreement between Sweden and AECF to fund REACT SSA was signed in November 2017 in Nairobi, Kenya. The programme is now officially launched in Mozambique and the competition is open for applications.
