The European Union (EU) has approved a EUR 30M grant to increase access to electricity in Mozambique, particularly in the provinces of Zambezia and Nampula. More than 700 000 households and hundreds of micro and small companies will benefit from the EU contribution and the first connections to the national electricity grid operated by Electricidade de Moçambique will start before the end of December.
The funds are part of PROMOVE, an EU comprehensive approach to rural development in Mozambique. The EU will channel its contribution through the Mozambique Energy Multi Donor Trust Fund, known as ProEnergia, created to support the implementation of the Government’s Energy For All programme, which main goal is to bring electricity access to rural and peri-urban areas across the country. The other partners to this initiative are Sweden, Norway and the World Bank.
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Speaking about EU efforts to support the energy sector, the EU Ambassador to Mozambique, Antonio Sanchez-Benedito Gaspar, said “access to energy is a catalyse for development and poverty reduction. We are proud to contribute to increased access to basic services and the creation of new job opportunities by bringing electricity to thousands of Mozambicans”. This EU action is a contribution to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7, which aims for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.
This EUR 30M grant is complementary to the EU’s financial support to the Renewable Energy Auction Project (PROLER) that aims to increase energy generation capacity of the country with more than 120MW from renewable sources to respond to the country’s demand in electricity.
Other EU-funded initiatives in the energy sector in Mozambique are the Energy Resource Centre, which provides capacity building, advisory services and technical assistance in the area of renewable energy to several institutions such as the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, the Energy Regulator, the Energy Fund or Electricidade de Moçambique; and GET.Invest Mozambique – this project provides support to private companies operating in the sector to reach project bankability by legal and technical advisory, coaching and matchmaking opportunities among other.
Temos o prazer de apoiar o Programa Energia para Todos, do Governo de Moçambique 🇲🇿, e assim contribuir para a ambiciosa meta de garantir o acesso à electricidade a todos os moçambicanos. @AFD_France @SwedeninMZ @WorldBank @norwayinmozambique @EDM🇲🇿 #FUNAE 🤝 #EUinMoz🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/OaQJ6dbVhg
— Antonio Sánchez-Benedito Gaspar (@SBeneditoGaspar) December 17, 2020
Source: European Union Delegation to Mozambique/ Press Release via Club of Mozambique
