During a high-level ministerial workshop organized by the Government of Sierra Leone in Freetown, with support from the World Bank Group and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Energy and Finance Ministers from the Central African Republic, Chad, Liberia, Mauritania, Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone today endorsed the Freetown Declaration on Regional Collaboration for Scaling Distributed Renewable Energy in West and Central Africa.
The Ministers committed to utilizing financial and technical support from the World Bank Group and SEforALL to create and expand a collaborative platform designed to scale distributed renewable energy solutions across the region. This initiative aims to eliminate energy poverty and drive job creation.
Reflecting on the declaration, Hon. Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security, Sierra Leone, said:
“Distributed renewable energy sources, such as minigrids offer a fast, flexible, and cost-effective way to provide energy access to underserved communities. Given the high geographical concentration of the West and Central African electricity access gap, donors and development finance institutions need to come together and maximize impact by broadening and deepening access agendas at regional and national levels. This is exactly what the declaration that has been endorsed today proposes, and I look forward to seeing this working in Sierra Leone and across West Africa.”