Sub-Saharan Africa represents a huge untapped market for companies in the renewable energy sector. The region offers great potential for German companies in particular, which have accrued valuable expertise thanks to Germany’s pioneering role in the energy transition.
However, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Germany often lack the resources to gather market information about emerging and developing nations, or to make informed decisions about their involvement in those markets. For companies that have already chosen to enter the new markets, it can be difficult to find reliable local business partners, although in light of the difficult conditions they face, such partnerships are indispensable for the completion of initial reference projects.
In response to the saturation of the German domestic market and the massive potential in sub-Saharan Africa, and in view of both the increasing presence of foreign competitors and the advancing climate change, GIZ is now supporting German SMEs that want to expand their activities in this area. It is doing so on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), which recognises that such companies need more far-reaching support than that available through conventional foreign trade promotion measures.
Objective
German companies identify suitable business partners in sub-Saharan Africa. They tap into the respective renewable energy markets and develop their first projects.
Approach
The Project Development Programme operates as part of the BMWi-led export initiative ‘renewables – Made in Germany’. It combines typical German foreign trade promotion tools with instruments of development cooperation. It supports German companies in their efforts to assess and enter the markets of sub-Saharan Africa, and assists them with market preparation and market development. It carries out studies, provides market intelligence and hosts information events on the new African markets. As such it supports the German companies’ decision-making process regarding market entry.
In close cooperation with the local German Chambers of Commerce, the programme organises business trips to the target countries, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania. This enables the German firms to develop business contacts and identify project opportunities with African companies. The programme also keeps German companies informed about calls to tender issued in the region, and provides assistance with the implementation of reference projects involving German technologies and services. A collective brand name ‘renewables – Made in Germany’, is used to promote the image of German products and services at trade fairs and through publicity campaigns. On top of this, the programme encourages sustainable development in the sub-Saharan markets by providing policy advice as well as capacity development measures involving trainers from German companies.
Results achieved so far
One of the aims of the Project Development Programme is to encourage a reference project involving German companies in sub-Saharan Africa, which it will be possible to scale up later. In Mozambique, together with the tourism association, the programme has informed local lodge operators about the latest developments with respect to off-grid energy supplies. Early pioneers have understood the economic benefits, including the Travessia Lodge in Inhambane, which has installed a photovoltaic hybrid system. While they still have a diesel generator in reserve, it has not been used since the system went into operation. The German supplier of the system was able to meet the investor’s demands that only high-value technology be used and that it should be installed by experts. From the battery and the power inverter through to the solar modules, all the components are ‘made in Germany’ and represent the global trust placed in that established label. To guarantee the sustainability of this project, the Project Development Programme arranged for local technicians and fitters to receive training on the installation, connection, operation and maintenance of PV solar systems.
RELATED THEMES
Energy
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Further information
renewables – Made in Germany