Our Core Pillars
1. Deliver Member Value
We support minigrid developers to become sustainable businesses with strong corporate governance.
AMDA’s Member Engagement team designs and implements programs and services that seek to make members’ lives easier, either by helping them save money or make more money. The Member Engagement team helps translate the value of AMDA’s other core pillars (Access to Capital; Policy, Regulatory & Regional Coordination; and Research, Data & Standards) to our members.
Existing and prospective members dream of achieving a herculean task such as universal electricity access, but they are constantly hitting roadblocks, including slow government processes; slow and inconsistent funding streams; being asked to show results with little to no support; and struggling with challenges of finding or retaining quality human capital. They do the heavy lifting of bridging the energy access gap, and they don’t get a lot of help. AMDA is the organization trying to help them and lift them up.
We are the only industry association focused exclusively on the minigrid industry. We offer services that are designed by and for minigrid companies as well as suppliers and solution providers. We understand your needs; We hear you; We are here for you.
2. Access to Capital
AMDA enhances the capital raising capabilities of minigrid companies and facilitates dialogue with funders and investors to attract deeper pools of capital in the minigrid sector.
Access to capital is critical for the success of minigrid companies, which provide decentralized energy solutions, especially in rural and off-grid areas. Today, several factors impact the ability of minigrid companies to secure the necessary funding to scale their operations, including:
Debt financing – accessing traditional debt from commercial banks is often difficult for minigrid companies due to perceived risks, including lack of credit history, uncertainty in revenue models, and long project payback periods.
Equity financing – Some minigrid companies have attracted early-stage investment from venture capital firms and private equity funds focused on renewable energy and impact investing. However, equity investment often comes with expectations of rapid scaling, which can be challenging given the nature of minigrid projects.
As a sector leader, AMDA seeks to work with all stakeholders to expand access to capital for minigrid companies through:
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) – Governments and development organizations need to increasingly collaborate with private-sector minigrid companies through blended finance models. These models combine public funding (grants, concessional loans) with private capital, which helps to reduce risks and increase the attractiveness of projects for private investors.
Concessional Finance – There is need for more concessional finance for the minigrid projects, where loans are offered at below-market interest rates to make the projects viable. Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) need to step up and play a bigger role here.
By combining different forms of capital—grants, debt, equity, and innovative financing mechanisms, minigrid companies can access deeper pools of capital and de-risk their projects.
3. Policy, Regulatory & Regional Coordination
The Policy, Regional & Regulatory pillar engages with policy makers, regulators and government stakeholders through effective communications, dialogue and advocacy campaigns to ensure an enabling environment for the sustainable development of minigrids at scale. Through our regional coordinators, we provide on-the-ground support to developers in the various regions we cover (presently East Africa, Francophone Afrique, West Africa & Southern Africa).
Minigrids are a cost effective and viable means to end energy poverty in Africa by 2030. It is imperative that all stakeholders (especially governments) work with AMDA towards the achievement of scale and development of the minigrid sector. The sector will only scale at the pace of which we all act and for as long as we stay on the same page.
AMDA strives to be a “partner in progress”. The Energy Access issue is not a problem that can be tackled by one institution alone. All stakeholders need to be unified in the goal of eliminating the energy deficit across the continent.
4. Research, Data & Standards
We serve as the reference point and source of reliable data & information on the private sector minigrids in Africa to support evidence-based decision making on the continent. We also work to standardise the sector to promote sustainable development of minigrids at scale.
AMDA is committed to improving the policy and financial environment for private minigrid companies. AMDA’s flagship publication, the Benchmarking Africa’s Minigrid Report (BAM) provides a broad database of industry performance as well as expert advice and recommendations on best practices and industry needs for the sector.