<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the European Commission, and COFIDES launched the Sustainable Off-Grid Lighting (SOL) Program this Wednesday in Seville, an initiative to finance decentralized renewable energy projects in rural and underserved areas of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.</strong></h4> The presentation took place within the framework of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Seville and was attended by the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Josef Síkela, the President and CEO of COFIDES, Ángela Pérez, and the Director of AECID, Antón Leis. The SOL Programme, approved by EU Member States under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), is endowed with a €75.6 million guarantee and an additional contribution of up to €5.3 million in technical assistance. Its objective is to finance decentralized renewable energy projects in rural and underserved areas of Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, with a special focus on the productive use of energy to boost local economies and generate employment. “The European Commission is joining forces with our Spanish partners to bring light to many homes and businesses in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa that until now remained in the dark. Once again, we are demonstrating our commitment to the implementation of the Global Gateway by mobilizing private financing, this time to facilitate access to electricity in areas not connected to national grids,” said Jozef Síkela. “By supporting the SOL Program, we at AECID reaffirm our commitment to fairer, more inclusive, and sustainable development. It is a decisive step toward bringing clean energy to communities that have been left out of progress. Energy that activates local economies, creates jobs, and transforms lives,” said Antón Leis, director. The ceremony held this Wednesday is institutional and symbolic, pending the completion of the internal validation processes by the European Commission that will allow for the effective signing of the Guarantee Agreement. The SOL Program provides a second-loss guarantee mechanism that will cover up to 70% of investments in Project Finance structures, thus promoting private sector participation in projects with a high social and environmental impact. In this way, it seeks to mobilize private capital toward strategic sectors for sustainable development, especially in regions where access to financing remains limited. “The SOL Program is an innovative financial tool, leveraging public resources with the mobilization of private capital, thus achieving a catalytic and multiplying effect,” added Leis. The EFSD+ is the European Union's financial instrument to support investments in partner countries within the framework of the Global Gateway strategy, which promotes sustainable and reliable connections in the digital, energy, transport, and human capital sectors worldwide.
