ECOWAS has officially launched the ROGEAP Project’s activities in Liberia and Mauritania.

ECOWAS has officially launched the activities of its Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) in Liberia and Mauritania.

Stakeholders from the renewable energy sector in Liberia and Mauritania took part in the official launches of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP). These launch events took place on Thursday 8 June in Monrovia, Liberia, and on Monday 12 June in Nouakchott, in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, respectively, in the presence of experts from the ministries responsible for energy, stakeholders from the private and public sectors, including civil society organisations, NGOs, the media and commercial banks from Liberia and Mauritania.

The aim of these two national workshops was to present the ROGEAP project to the relevant stakeholders, to raise awareness of off-grid solar PV technologies and, finally, to establish a regulatory framework conducive to the development of the market for off-grid solar PV products in Liberia and Mauritania.

In Monrovia, the launch workshop for the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) in Liberia was opened by Mr Kelvin GRUGBAYE, Director of Energy Efficiency and the Environment, representing the Liberian Minister for Mines and Energy, in the presence of Her Excellency Ms Joséphine NKRUMAH, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Liberia, the World Bank Representative in Liberia, and Mr Arnaud KOUADIO BA, ROGEAP Monitoring and Evaluation Expert, representing Commissioner Sédiko Douka, ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation.

In Nouakchott, the workshop in Mauritania was chaired by Mr Ahmed Salem BOUHEDA, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy, in the presence of Mr Elhadji SYLLA, ROGEAP’s Senior Adviser, representing Commissioner Sédiko Douka, ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation.

As a reminder, the ROGEAP programme is implemented by the ECOWAS Commission and the West African Development Bank (BOAD). Its aim is to increase access to sustainable electricity services in the 15 ECOWAS Member States and four other African countries (Mauritania, the Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon) for households, commercial enterprises and public community infrastructure in the health and education sectors through solar systems. With a budget of USD 338.7 million, the project is funded by the World Bank, the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and the Dutch Development Cooperation (DGIS).