UK Launches Climate Programme In Nigeria

The United Kingdom Government has opened call for proposals for its funded Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Nigeria programme.

CFA Nigeria is a climate finance country platform designed to directly respond to the urgency and scale of the climate crisis in Nigeria by mobilising finance for the country’s just transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy.

It specifically invited project developers in Nigeria helping to tackle the climate crisis. Interested persons are to apply by completing the online application on or before the 17 February 2023.

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Interested project developers must be in pre-feasibility stage and should be seeking investment of at least USD$1 million with no upper limit, a statement by the British Government said.

British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn Jones, said, “I’m delighted that the Climate Finance Accelerator Nigeria is now open for applications from low-carbon projects. The private sector has the potential to play a large part in helping to meet Nigeria’s climate change commitments and I’m excited to see what innovative projects apply.

“The CFA has already seen great success globally and in Nigeria and it is fantastic that Nigerian projects will continue to receive bespoke support from technical and financial experts to help increase their chances of securing investment.

“The CFA builds on the UK’s climate leadership, as host of COP26 in Glasgow and is part of the UK’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s transition to a prosperous low carbon future.”

In 2021-22 CFA Nigeria amassed a pipeline worth USD445 million and worked directly with innovative projects to engage Nigerian and global financiers. This year CFA Nigeria intends to expand its pipeline with two further calls for proposals.

The projects are expected to be selected from the country’s priority sectors according to Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution: renewable power, transport, energy efficiency, residential, oil and gas, agriculture, forestry and land use, waste and the circular economy, water, and industrial processes.

Also, the Team Leader of CFA Nigeria, Uzo Egbuche said, “CFA Nigeria is recognised as a country platform capable of deploying blended finance and leveraging private finance at scale. We are proud to have established ourselves as an independent legal entity in 2022 able to serve our core clients of financiers, developers and of course the Federal Government

“We invite all developers in the climate economy seeking finance to join the pipeline as we begin this next chapter in 2023.”