Apply for Round Two Now
Click Here for more information about how to apply for the Off-Grid Energy challenge grants in Ethiopia, Ghana,Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania.
Round 1 winners have already been awarded $600,000 in grants for their innovative projects. To read about Round I winners Click Here
What is Power Africa?
Power Africa is a broad U.S. Government initiative to drive growth by increasing access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power and helping to ensure responsible, transparent and effective management of energy resources. Working with public and private sector partners, this initiative will achieve these results:
- Increasing electricity generation;
- Increasing electricity access -- with a focus on both on-grid and off-grid or micro-grid solutions;
- Increasing cross border energy trade; and,
Ensuring responsible and transparent management of energy resources
Initial countries targeted include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia. USADF believes its greatest contribution to Power Africa is in increasing electricity access to underserved communities in the target countries. To achieve that end it launched an off-grid energy challenge to promote innovative and sustainable ways to deliver energy to underserved communities.
The USADF Off-Grid Energy Challenge
US African Development Foundation partnered with GE Africa to promote innovative solutions that develop, scale-up or extend the use of proven technologies for off-grid energy – reaching communities not served by existing power grids. This $2.4 million challenge will award grants of up $100,000 each to African companies and organizations providing off-grid solutions that deploy renewable resources and power local economic activities. Challenge winners will have near-term solutions to the power needs of productive and commercial activities, including agriculture production and processing, off-farm businesses, and commercial enterprises.