DRE Market Opportunities for Private Sector in Madagascar
31 March 2022 – With 19.1 million people without electricity and a rural electrification rate around 13.71% at the end of 2020, Madagascar aims to bring rural electrification to the next level by 2030 and has set an ambitious goal to electrify 25% of rural areas by 2023.
Public-private partnerships will play a critical role in achieving this mission, especially when it comes to last-mile rural electrification projects. This is why the Agence de Développement de l’Electrification Rurale (ADER) and the Office de Régulation de l’Electricité (ORE), supported by GIZ, have created a more favourable legal and regulatory framework for decentralised renewable energy, establishing masterplans for each of the 23 regions in Madagascar, involving the private sector directly in the delivery of sustainable electricity through calls for proposals and new financing mechanisms adapted to market needs.
Clean energy mini-grids offer particular promise to accelerate rural electrification, as the country has a big hydro and solar potential.
The Director General of the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH), Mr. Sambatra Ramiandrasoa, confirmed the ambition of the Malagasy Government in the recently organised Forum for Rural Electrification in Madagascar (FERM) in October 2021 by declaring “Together, we will work hard to provide electricity to every rural, remote and landlocked area of the country. Several projects should be implemented to achieve such ambitions.”
ARE organised the FERM with the support of GIZ Madagascar, and the United Nations System in Madagascar (UNDP, UNIDO, UNCDF). It was also organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons in Madagascar (MEH), the Rural Electrification Development Agency (ADER), the Office of Electricity Regulation (ORE) and the Economic Development Board of Madagascar (EDBM).
Key lessons learnt from the event discussions from an industry perspective included: the need to further showcase and improve the attractiveness of the Malagasy market to international investors, to improve the application of the regulatory framework in practice, as well as to provide additional support for existing and new domestic renewable enterprises to champion renewable electrification efforts in the country.
As a follow-up to the FERM and to turbocharge industry efforts in the Malagasy DRE market, ARE, supported by the PERER project of GIZ Madagascar, organised a round table on the DRE market opportunities in Madagascar on 30 March 2022. The main objective was to discuss and present Malagasy DRE market opportunities to the private sector and potential international investors who would be keen on investing in Madagascar.
Five private sector companies briefly presented their company, an explanation of why chose to work in Madagascar, and the positive aspects of the market, challenges and gaps in the market for equipment for productive uses, and market prospects and opportunities moving forward. The recording of the round table remains accessible on ARE LinkedIn page.
For more information and data on the renewable energy sector in Madagascar visit www.energie.mg. For more information about GIZ Madagascar’s work on rural electrification visit www.giz.de/en/worldwide/23973.html
To join ARE, to access recordings of the forum or the round table or if you want are interested in receiving the presentations from FERM and the round table, contact Inès van Oldeneel, Market & Business Development Officer, ARE: i.vanoldeneel@ruralelec.org.