UN Climate Change News, 14 March 2017 – The African Development Bank is working closely with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to scale up solar energy in Africa, with a focus on developing 10,000 MW of solar power systems across the Sahel.

The African Development Bank’s Desert to Power solar initiative supported by the Solar Alliance aims to provide electricity to 250 million people, with 90 million of these being on off-grid systems.

• The new program aims to achieve sustainable and inclusive growth driven by the private sector.
• The medium-term economic outlook remains favourable.
• The government intends to maintain the budget deficit target at 3% in 2019 and beyond, while ensuring the settlement of its outstanding obligations to the private sector.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team, led by Ms.

The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) is pleased to announce  the nomination of Professor Anthony Nyong, Director for Climate Change and Green Growth, as one of the ‘100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy 2019’ by Apolitical, a peer-to-peer learning platform for governments.

Nyong, a pioneering and globally recognized climate change expert, was named among the top 20 on the prestigious listing announced Wednesday in London.

The board of the multilateral development finance institution has approved a $20 million facility to back the deployment of renewables-based minigrid projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Upon completion, minigrid systems ranging in size from 3 MW to 10 MW will help to provide electricity to 21,200 homes, as well as 2,100 buildings and small- and medium-sized enterprises. In an online statement, the bank said that it expects these projects to provide benefits to at least 150,000 people.