Access Infra Africa, a developer, owner and operator of power assets in Africa, has launched the Access Co-Development Fund (ACF), a $5 million competition designed to bridge the gap between early stage renewable energy projects in Africa and the expertise and funding they require to come to operation.

Open to entries between April 1 and May 20, the ACF will short list up to five projects from those submitted for a final round of screening by a panel of experts to take place on June 11 2015 during the 2015 Africa Energy Forum in Dubai, UAE.

The winning projects) from the AEF final round will enter into a Joint Development Agreement with Access, said a statement.

Under this agreement, Access will take an equity stake in the successful projects and fund third party development costs related to them, such as feasibility studies, grid studies, environmental and social impact assessments and other due diligence fees.

The successful projects will also be able to draw upon Access’ expertise for technical support, financial structuring and development process management.

Reda El Chaar, chairman of Access Power MEA, said: “ACF is a unique platform bringing together the funding and expertise renewable energy project originators and developers across Africa need to succeed.

“The inaugural ACF will be an exciting feature of this year’s Africa Energy Forum and we are confident that the ACF will develop in subsequent years into a platform that attracts early stage funding from Development Financing Institutions, International Financing Institutions and various donor organisations.” - TradeArabia News Service