100,000 Zambian households gain clean energy access through Beyond the Grid Fund

Bringing modern energy to sparsely populated rural areas is a great challenge. Partnerships like this one have helped to make overcoming this challenge possible.” This was the response of Mr Stephen Mwansa, Permanent Secretary (Administration), Office of the Vice President, Republic of Zambia to the news that 100,000 Zambian households had gained access to clean energy through the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia. The Power Africa: Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia (BGFZ), funded by Sweden and managed by the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), was launched in 2016 with the aim to expand access to clean, reliable, affordable off-grid energy in rural and peri-urban areas in Zambia. The programme supports four companies and works closely with the government in its efforts to build a thriving market for off-grid energy services, and is on-track to connect 1.6 million Zambians by 2021.