Rome, January 12th, 2021 - Today, in the framework of RES4Africa's Advanced Training Course (ATC), the European Investment Bank (EIB) held a dedicated session. The ATC is RES4Africa's flagship training programme addressed to institutional and high-level profiles operating in the African RE sector, this year benefitting for the first time from the official support of a European institution, in addition to the traditional partnership with Enel Foundation.
Today's online session was dedicated to EIB's activities targeting renewables and climate change in Africa: experts and high-level representatives from the European Commission and the European Investment Bank provided insights about the EU Initiatives dedicated to renewable energy in Africa, as well as to the EIB's background and operations, climate and project financing, technical assistance programmes, and public-private partnerships.
The e-lectures were delivered thanks to contributions by G. Grapsas (Team Leader for Sustainable Energy -DG INTPA – Climate Change, Sustainable Energy and Nuclear Safety, European Commission), A. Bourreau (Senior Loan Officer / Global Partners, EIB), B. Verink (Investment Officer, Project Finance & Guarantees, EIB), C. Cocuzza (Head of Unit, Technical Assistance Operations in Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, Asia and Latin America, EIB), S. Martinez Guzman (Senior Energy Expert, EIB), P. Ghezzo, (Renewable Energy Specialist, EIB), M. Rattinger (Senior Officer, ADB Secondee - Operations, EIB). Additionally, initial remarks were provided by RES4Africa Secretary General Roberto Vigotti, and an introduction to the topics and framework of EIB’s action was performed by Maria Shaw-Barragan (Director of Lending in Africa, Caribbean, Pacific, Asia and Latin America, EIB), who highlighted how a transnational approach is key to fight climate change: “The European Investment Bank is becoming the climate bank […]. We will never achieve climate targets just within the European Union, so it’s important to work with African partners to achieve these goals, such as clean affordable, reliable energy for the population. It’s in the exchange that we can progress together”.
The event was moderated by Joy Doreen Biira (Media Personality & Communications Advisor).
RES4Africa prioritizes capacity-building activities, acknowledged and pursued as one of the crucial catalysts of Africa's transition towards sustainable energy and electrification. EIB's vision is strongly aligned to RES4Africa's, and saw it as a common ground for synergetic efforts towards an empowered and sustainability-oriented African workforce. This collaboration took the shape of targeted and ground-breaking training initiatives, which have the potential of accelerating some necessary steps of the energy transition, such as empowering young green innovators (MGA Award), providing support in building the skills of the local workforce, and strengthening the sustainability expertise of African managers and decision-makers, as in the case of the ATC.
