• IFC provides $28.3 million in guarantees to support a new issuance financing up to 600,000 new electricity connections under the PEPT program.
• Côte d’Ivoire targets universal access by 2030, requiring 17 million additional connections.
• Renewables must reach 45% of the power mix by 2030 to meet rising demand.

Côte d’Ivoire continues to expand access to electricity with financing tools that mobilise local and international investors. Authorities combine these efforts with plans to increase installed capacity, particularly through renewable energy.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, said in late November that it supports a new issuance designed to finance up to 600,000 electrical connections under the national programme Électricité Pour Tous (PEPT). IFC provides a $28.3 million guarantee to ease participation from local and foreign investors.

The operation targets about 2.8 million beneficiaries. It extends a first issuance launched in 2023, which created the region’s first social bond for the energy sector in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). IFC had supported that transaction with $48.8 million, covering half of the structure and enabling up to 800,000 new connections.

PEPT remains the main mechanism for connecting low-income households in already electrified localities. The programme offers a reduced upfront payment and allows consumers to repay installation costs through their electricity bills. Official data show that PEPT connected 1,500,369 households between 2014 and 2022.

“The innovative financing model of PEPT continues to change the game for achieving universal access to electricity in Côte d’Ivoire,” said Zahalo Silué, president of the PEPT Fund. “IFC’s support for this second bond issuance highlights the essential role financial markets play in promoting inclusive development and improving living conditions.”

World Bank data show Côte d’Ivoire’s electrification rate reached 72% at the end of 2023, above the Sub-Saharan African average. However, the country aims for universal access and plans 17 million new connections by 2030.

Authorities say progress will depend on financial tools such as PEPT and on efforts to expand production capacity. The government intends to scale renewable energy so that it represents 45% of the national power mix by 2030.

Abdoullah Diop