Roundtable on GET.invest Support Instruments for the DRE Sector

ARE, supported by GET.invest, has the pleasure to invite you to the interactive webinar "Roundtable on GET.invest Support Instruments for the DRE Sector" on 22 July 2020 at 14.00 – 15.30 CEST.

GET.invest is a European programme that mobilises investments in renewable energy, supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria.

With discussants from private sector decentralised renewable energy (DRE) companies, as well as from the GET.invest Finance Catalyst, the webinar will feature:

Feedback from DRE companies on support instruments needed, especially in the face of Covid-19
Presentation of GET.invest support instruments for DRE companies
Sharing of lessons learnt from DRE companies on how to make use of GET.invest support instruments in practice

Programme

Chair: David Lecoque, CEO a.i., ARE
Moderator: Jens Jaeger, Policy & Business Development Manager, ARE

14.00 – 14.30

COVID-19 stories: Impact on the DRE sector and existing needs of companies

Objective: To gather feedback from DRE companies on status quo from the field and additional support needed for DRE companies.

Presenters:

Camille Andre-Bataille, CEO, ANKA Madagascar
Stefaan Debreef, Flex Grid
Grace Perkins, Business Development Manager, Renewvia Energy

Q&A

14.30 – 14.45

Presentation of GET.invest support instruments

Paul van Aalst, Team Leader, GET.invest Finance Catalyst

Q&A

14.45 – 15.30

GET.invest support instruments in practice – lessons learnt from the field

Objective: Sharing lessons learnt from DRE companies on how they have used GET.invest support instruments in practice

Panellists:

Steve Wasira, Vice-President – Business Development, Virunga Power
Casper Sikkema, CCO, SolarWorks!
Laura Sundblad, Corporate Development Director, Pawame

Q&A

Background information

The Covid-19 crisis is causing severe disruptions for DRE companies in emerging markets .

Recent surveys by ARE and fellow sector associations indicate that most DRE companies urgently need support as they can only survive 3-6 months at current levels of disruption. The key problem for DRE companies in the coming months is liquidity. Moreover, customer liquidity has been heavily impacted due to lockdowns; demand for new sales has decreased dramatically; operation of sales agent has been highly restricted; access to capital has been reduced or slowed down and maintenance and operations of systems in the current conditions is very challenging.

What is clear at this point is that there is a need to assess the situation and existing business plans, restructure financing arrangements, and access additional funds, including relief funds.

The GET.invest Finance Catalyst is offering adapted support for both existing as well as new clients. Applicants in need of urgent support to address acute and critical finance-related problems caused by the Covid-19 crisis can access GET.invest's services in an accelerated process with a reaction time of no more than one week. This support focuses on business continuity to companies that are already in operation, particularly in the areas of strategy including business continuity, business and financial structuring as well as financial modelling, access to finance support, and transaction advisory..

This 90-minute webinar will serve to present and discuss existing GET.invest support instruments with DRE private sector to get their feedback and suggest improvements.