(Ecofin Agency) - Côte d'Ivoire and the German development bank KfW finalized, on Thursday 20 February, the agreement relating to the increase in the country's contribution to the capital of the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) which promotes investments on the continent.

Financed by KfW, the loan agreement amounting to $6.5 million €5,859,022 was initially signed in December 2019. With this capital increase, the Ivorian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding under the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF), which will help the country to attract more independent power producers (IPPs) and project developers.

Established in 2017 by KfW in partnership with ATI, the RLSF is helping to promote investment in renewable energy in ATI member countries through insurance that protects IPPs against the possible risk of late payment by national electricity companies.

RLSF benefits from the €31.6 million provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as a technical assistance grant of €1.3 million.

Abdourahmane Cissé (pictured), the Ivorian Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies said: “the RLSF is an innovative mechanism that will undoubtedly make it possible to increase and accelerate investments in the renewable energy sector, thus contributing to the achievement of our objectives, in particular, an energy mix of 42% renewable energy by 2030, the appropriation of technology by our local SMEs and the training and creation of local jobs.”

The new move made by the Ivorian government is part of a partnership initiated by the German government to encourage reforms, with a view to creating a favorable environment for private investment, especially in the areas of renewable energies and energy efficiency.