Crédit Agricole CIB and the Foundation support access to energy in Ivory Coast

© Philippe Lissac

After several months of work, a pilot securitization project initiated by Crédit Agricole CIB and the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation has been launched in Côte d'Ivoire. It aims to combat energy poverty by financing the supply of off-grid individual solar equipment to primarily rural populations in Côte d'Ivoire.

A high-impact technological project

Access to energy is a major challenge in Africa: more than 620 million people lack access to electricity and continue to use battery-powered flashlights and kerosene lamps, despite the harmful effects on their health and the environment. This energy poverty particularly affects rural populations living in areas not served by electricity grids.

The financing of ZECI's (Zola EDF Cote d'Ivoire) "Solar Home Systems" business aims to address this issue by providing off-grid solar equipment in Côte d'Ivoire. ZECI is a company co-founded by EDF and Zola Electric that markets and maintains solar kits to meet the needs of rural populations not served by local electricity networks. This offer is proposed through 3-year installment sales contracts, with payments made via mobile money and staggered by the customer based on their available income. To support the company's development, several financial players have joined forces to set up financing in the form of securitization of receivables under equipment sales contracts to customers.

An innovative structure

To finance ZECI's development, a financing vehicle (NEoT CI) was created, which purchases ZECI's receivables and solar kits as contracts are signed. This vehicle is owned by NEoT Off-Grid Africa, a platform dedicated to investing in off-grid projects in Africa, owned by the infrastructure fund Meridiam, with Mitsubishi Corporation and EDF as co-shareholders, and managed by NEoT Capital.

Bankers committed to development

The financing of the vehicle (NEoT CI) was structured in the form of a securitization by Crédit Agricole CIB, Société Générale CIB and Société Générale Côte d'Ivoire (SGCI), with an equity share provided by NEoT Off-Grid Africa and a senior local currency loan of 11.80 billion XOF Francs (approximately 18 million euros) granted by SGCI with guarantees provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Crédit Agricole CIB.

In addition to participating in the implementation and financing of the project, the Grameen Crédit Agricole Foundation will also be responsible for monitoring the project's social and environmental performance. This funding will enable ZECI to strengthen its business model and increase its impact in rural areas of Côte d'Ivoire.