Project development encompasses activities designed and implemented to take a project from an idea to an investment opportunity. It is concerned with preparing opportunities to become attractive enough to receive financial input. Project development involves studying the opportunity, evaluating its capacity to meet an economic need that a sponsor will be willing to back up with their scarce financial resources. The process requires technical, legal, finance, and project preparation knowledge, including nuanced market knowledge, careful negotiation, innovative and sophisticated financing capabilities, as well as the ability to navigate the project risks perceived or otherwise. 

In West Africa, the huge infrastructure gap, particularly in the power sector, demands an increased focus on project development, derisking projects, and mobilizing private capital to realize them. It is for this reason that ECREEE will be dedicating substantial resources to developing (or supporting the development of) feasibility studies, creating a pipeline of bankable projects ready for immediate funding, organizing roundtables, and financial roadshows to present these investment opportunities to the right financiers. 

Moreover, given ECREEE’s role as a policymaking regional body, the Centre will continue to promote an enabling legal, policy, and regulatory environment to enhance renewable energy and energy efficiency project bankability and investment. It will also continue to unlock the challenges associated with project preparation. 

The primary aim of the Project Development and Finance (PD&F) program at ECREEE is to consistently generate a pipeline of bankable sustainable energy projects across the ECOWAS Member States, facilitating effective resource mobilization. 

Specific objectives include:  

• Identifying, studying, and preparing investment opportunities in the form of sustainable energy projects. 
• Implementing marketing activities to raise awareness about the prepared projects. 
• Fostering partnerships with the public and private sector and providing support in negotiations to facilitate the financial closure of the projects. 
• Explore and establish partnerships with a variety of financial institutions, international donors, and private investors to diversify funding sources for sustainable energy projects. 
• Monitoring and reporting on the outcomes of the projects to further enhance ECREEE’s capacity for resource mobilization.

Completed

• ECREEE Resource Mobilisation Strategy
• Staff training in Fund Mobilisation

Ongoing

• ECOWAS Project Pipeline (EPP) Development
• EPP Investment Roundtable
• EPP Marketplace
• Implementation of EREEEF

Sustainable energy infrastructure projects, funded throughout the region, contribute to heightened economic development across ECOWAS Member States.