A new study shows that the Off-Grid Task Force in Zambia has accelerated the growth of the country’s off-grid energy sector and transformed challenges into opportunities. Currently, lessons learned from the Zambia programme are being implemented across all countries supported by the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) with the aim of addressing a broad range of key factors through scaling up activities to reach more underserved populations with affordable off-grid electricity solutions.
The OGTF’s journey in Zambia offers a path for transformative coordination and collaboration, demonstrating the potential to lay the groundwork for sustainable and inclusive off-grid energy solutions in other African countries. The study examined success factors, impacts and outcomes of the Off-Grid Task Force (OGTF) work in Zambia as a mechanism for market change, aiming to derive learning opportunities for establishing and operating similar task forces in all Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) countries of operation and for other off-grid programmes and activities in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study was carried out by NIRAS, in collaboration with REEEP, both project implementation partners for BGFA.
The Zambian national OGTF was conceived and established in early 2018, with the overarching objective to support sector growth and facilitate public and private investment in off-grid energy access in line with government objectives. This was part of the implementation of the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia (BGFZ), an innovative funding programme initiated by the Swedish Embassy in Lusaka and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) in 2016 and implemented by REEEP. At that time, the off-grid market was practically non-existent in East and Southern Africa.
The study shows that institutional work has had an impact on resource mobilisation, stakeholder coordination, institutional strengthening, capacity building and policy influence. The success of the OGTF in Zambia serves as a compelling model for replication, offering valuable insights for the expansion of off-grid energy initiatives elsewhere in the region.
“We believe the lessons learned and findings from the work in Zambia can help accelerate similar work in other Sub-Saharan African countries and thus enable access to off-grid energy for households and businesses,” comments Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Senior Programme Manager at Nefco.
The Zambian national OGTF aims to ensure that investments – both public and private – achieve transformational change in the lives of the rural populace by expanding access to clean and sustainable energy and growing markets. Through coordination meetings and sub-committees, the OGTF identifies critical market gaps, dismantles market barriers, guides the deployment of government resources and donor financing, troubleshoots issues in donor programme implementation and private sector investment and acts as a central coordination hub and information repository for the off-grid energy sector in Zambia.
To utilise and replicate the findings from work done by the OGTF in Zambia in other countries, the following points must be taken into consideration: strategy development should be adapted to local contexts, collaboration and consultation should include a broad group of Off-Grid stakeholders to ensure relevance and foster sustainability, the OGTF model needs to align with existing energy policies and frameworks in the target countries and capacity building and financial support should be facilitated to assist local institutions and organisations in participating in the dialogue on off-grid electrification efforts.
The study concludes that communication and information sharing among stakeholders must be further strengthened to facilitate dialogue, coordination and action by the OGTF. Awareness of the OGTF and its role in creating a fostering environment should be increased among the private sector. In light of this, the study highlights the following recommendations to further develop the OGTF and replicate the OGTF model in other countries: emphasise sustained efforts in capacity building, foster deeper engagement with stakeholders, institute periodic evaluations to assess the OGTF’s effectiveness and ensure regional dissemination of best practices.
To scale up the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia (BGFZ), Nefco – The Nordic Green Bank – established the Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) programme on Sweden’s initiative in 2019 to conduct ongoing Off-Grid Task Force activities. BGFA is currently a EUR 126 million multi-donor facility operating in Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. Today, BGFA has developed a project portfolio of 29 companies. Once implemented, the current programme portfolio will have the potential to reach over 8.7 million people across these six countries.
More information:
For further information, please contact:
Dennis Hamro-Drotz, Senior Programme Manager at Nefco
dennis.hamro-drotz@nefco.int, +358 10 6180 641
Kari Hämekoski, Senior Programme Manager at Nefco
kari.hamekoski@nefco.int, +35810 618 0660
About the Zambia Off-Grid Task Force
The Zambian national Off-Grid Task Force (OGTF) is a multi-stakeholder platform led by the Government of Zambia through the Department of Energy. The OGTF in Zambia serves as a central point for coordinating and overseeing initiatives aimed at enhancing the visibility of the off-grid energy sector in Zambia and, with this, contributing to increased energy access, particularly in rural areas, in accordance with Government objectives. It also operates alongside other government departments, donors, the private sector and investors. The OGTF serves as a knowledge hub, fostering collaboration among government entities, industry representatives and civil society to exchange insights and address sector challenges. Being action-oriented, it ensures coordinated effort, optimal private sector investment and structured growth, aiming to leverage resources for market expansion and investment opportunities.