First Ever Madagascar Rural Electrification Forum to Turbocharge Malagasy DRE Market
26 October 2021 – The Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), together with the United Nations System in Madagascar (UNDP, UNIDO and UNCDF), Joint SDG Fund and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), organised the Madagascar Rural Electrification Forum (FERM), which took place virtually on 20-21 October 2021. The two-day event was also supported by Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH), Rural Electrification Development Agency (ADER), Electricity Regulation Office (ORE) and Economic Development Board of Madagascar (EDBM).
The Forum brought together almost 300 stakeholders from the DRE sector, including private and public sector representatives such as the Government of Madagascar, investors, project developers and technology providers. FERM showcased the potential of the decentralised renewable energy (DRE) market in Madagascar and connected key financial and technical players to do business.
David Lecoque, CEO of ARE said: “We are honoured to organise the first ever Madagascar Rural Electrification Forum and bring together public and private sector actors to help drive rural electrification efforts in Madagascar. We believe that these fruitful discussions will help turbocharge the DRE market in Madagascar and contribute to the massive and rapid deployment of DRE across the country.”
Sambatra Ramiandrasoa, Director General of Energy & Hydrocarbons of MEH stated that: “Together, we will work hard to bring electricity to every rural, remote and landlocked area of the country. Several projects should be implemented to achieve such ambitions. That is why we have organised this forum to discuss how to effectively achieve the set objectives in a B2B format.”
Issa Sanogo, Resident Coordinator of the UN System in Madagascar underlined that: “The UN System supports the Madagascar Government and other stakeholders in the promotion and development of a green economy to support sustainable and inclusive development. The UN System supports actions for a better electrification of rural areas while promoting renewable energies because these discussions allow not only the strengthening of mechanisms of adaptation and mitigation to climate change but also so we do not leave aside the populations in these areas.”
The discussions demonstrated that DRE technologies were fundamental in harnessing the vast renewable energy potential, delivering vast socio-economic benefits and increasing energy autonomy and diversification in Madagascar, thereby enabling energy access for all. In addition, FERM provided an important opportunity to shed light on how investors can contribute to furthering electrification rates in Madagascar.
Christoph Feldkötter, Country Director of GIZ Madagascar stated that: “This forum is truly an exceptional opportunity for Madagascar to present its renewable energy potential to investors and to contribute to the achievement of the objectives set out in the General State Program. It is also an opportunity to contribute to the mitigation of climate change. We are convinced that this dialogue will contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the population in rural areas!”
FERM opened with an overview of the current state of the DRE market in Madagascar. This session outlined that it was important to acknowledge the economic role of DRE and it was vital to grasp this enormous potential, particularly in the most vulnerable areas of Madagascar.
The high level discussions and debates attracted many key actors from the public and private sector including ARE Members ABC Contracting, Africa GreenTec, ADEME, ANKA Madagascar, Asantys Systems, atmosfair, BAE Batterien, Benoo, ENERSOL, Faber, Gommyr Power, NRECA International, Phaesun, Rutten NES, Solar23, Studer Innotec, Tanatech, Upya, Voltalia and Zimpertec.
The second day brought together DRE technology providers and private and public sector investors to highlight the types of financial instruments available to stimulate rural electrification efforts in Madagascar. Practitioners on the ground also had the chance to present their Malgasy projects and technical solutions for mini-grids and stand-alone renewable energy systems.
Lastly, ARE facilitated approximately 150 virtual matchmaking sessions, enabling investors, technology providers, project developers, as well as other innovators in the sector to connect.
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