SA leads on big solar; neighbours win on offgrid PayGo – Citi’s Amusin sees light in Africa’s energy future

To reduce poverty in Africa, there are very few silver bullets. Yet energy access is emerging as a rare bright spot, says Eugene Amusin, Head of Strategy and Global Solutions for Social Finance at Citi. He told BizNews in an interview that offgrid solar and payasyougo (PayGo) models are scaling faster than any other energy solution and are transforming rural lives across the continent. Citi is helping mobilise private capital for Mission 300, the World Bank and African Development Bank initiative to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030, including a landmark $156 million securitisation for Sun King, in Kenya that has drawn new investors into the sector. Amusin says South Africa’s success in industrial scale solar offers lessons for the continent, while South Africa itself could learn from its neighbours’ rapid expansion of offgrid household systems, still needed by around 10% of homes in the country. – Linda van Tilburg