About Us

The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance programme designed to stimulate the solar-battery minigrids market to boost electricity access in 21 countries. The goal is to bring the development benefits of energy access to a wide array of communities across the continent by focusing on supporting productive uses of energy, which supports socio-economic development by enhancing the quality of sectors that require energy input such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and small businesses.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by UNDP in partnership with RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) and the African Development Bank (AfDB), AMP aims to build on, and complement, the existing work done by stakeholders across the minigrids space in Africa.

With country-level projects led by national implementing partners, the program benefits from regional coordination and knowledge-sharing activities co-led by UNDP and RMI including an AMP community of practice implemented by RMI’s Energy Transition Academy.

The AMP started implementation in 2022 and will continue until 2027. Participants include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome e Principe Somalia, Sudan, Zambia.

How AMP Works

AMP is expressly targeting early-stage minigrid markets, seeking to establish the enabling environment for subsequent private investment at scale.

It focuses on cost-reduction levers and innovative business models. This cost-reduction (in hardware costs, soft costs and financing costs), in conjunction with innovative business models, will increase capital flows to the profit of end-users, who will benefit from lower tariffs and expanded service compared with the baseline.

The AMP will pilot innovative renewable energy minigrids solutions in 21 countries. These pilots will demonstrate the viability and potential of minigrids.

This piloting approach is coupled with policy de-risking activities that will help to attract the private investments that are necessary to deploy minigrids at scale. Policy de-risking consists in working with governments to design and implement the policies and regulations that enable large-scale investments in renewable energy solutions. Through its policy de-risking activities, the AMP aims to durably create the conditions for renewable energy minigrids to be deployed at scale, beyond the initial pilots.

Where We Work

We work in sub-saharan Africa, a region with the highest energy access deficit in the world. 50% of people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to electricity. That represents 568 million people, and three-quarters of the world’s unelectrified population. 80% of people in sub-Saharan Africa don’t have access to clean, safe fuels and technologies for cooking. That represents 923 million people, and 40% of the world’s population do not have access to clean cooking.

Realizing the minigrids potential in the Africa Minigrids Program’s 21 countries is estimated to lead to the construction of 110,000 minigrids, transforming communities by bringing electricity to more than 200,000 schools and clinics, and driving economic growth with the electrification of more than 900,000 businesses.

The AMP Network

Partnership across stakeholder groups – national governments, development partners, private sector, and civil society – is central to AMP, and solar battery minigrids are already benefiting from the support of a number of development partners. We hope to complement existing initiatives working hand-in-hand with partners – with the aim of collectively achieving the step-change in scale we all aspire to.

Participating country governments

We work with government officials and policymakers to create the right regulatory conditions for projects to thrive.

Private sector partners

We rely on businesses and investors to work collaboratively to support innovative entrepreneurial solutions to scaling minigrid projects and attract further investment.

Technicians and other project staff (country level)

Experts in the minigrid development sector and constructions work with our experts to bring projects to life and navigate local government licenses and approvals.

Communities interested in information on the project and vision

Communities who live off-grid seeking a more reliable source of energy work with the rest of the AMP Network to take the needed steps to get granted permission to commission and proceed with projects.