EEP Africa clean-energy financing

EEP Africa supports businesses developing renewable-energy and energy-efficiency solutions with a credible route to commercial sustainability. Examples include solar electricity access, mini-grids, clean cooking, productive uses of energy and energy storage. It can support pilots and expansion into new markets, alongside business-development support and introductions to investors. Projects must already be under active development and need the grant because commercial finance is unlikely to cover the risk.

The closed 2026 call offered €200,000–500,000 per project, for implementation within 24 months after signing the contract. The terms below describe that call. Funding is normally paid after agreed milestones and verified expenditure and co-financing. Advances are assessed individually, cannot exceed 25% of the grant and cannot include the final 15%, which is reserved until completion requirements are met.

Some or all of the grant may have to be repaid. Funding for inventory bought for resale must be repaid; studies preparing on-grid or utility-scale developments are repayable if the project reaches financial close, when its financing is secured. The whole grant can be repayable if the applicant requests this, the Investment Committee requires it, or the applicant is classified as mature. A mature parent or majority shareholder can also trigger this treatment for a special-purpose project company. Repayable amounts carry no interest. The contract defines the repayment triggers and schedule, usually within five years after project closure, in instalments or a single payment at financial close.

Co-financing depends on the project and company:

• Normally, provide at least 30% of total project costs in cash from eligible sources such as equity, loans, grants or reserves. Identify the sources when applying; they must be verified before disbursement. Expected product-sale revenue cannot count as cash already available.
• For a pilot run by an early-stage company, up to 20% of total project costs can instead be eligible contributions in kind, with at least 10% in cash. These contributions must be relevant, measurable, documented and approved. Regular salaried work during implementation counts as cash expenditure; documented staff work within two years before contract signature may qualify in kind.
• Mature companies undertaking expansion projects must provide at least 50% in cash. This also applies where the parent or majority shareholder of a project company is mature. EEP decides maturity from an overall assessment at expression-of-interest stage, rather than treating each benchmark as a separate eligibility test.

The section 4.4/Table 1 maturity benchmarks describe these stages:

• Startups typically have operated for 0–3 years, employ fewer than 10 staff, make losses, have revenue and assets below €100,000 and have raised less than €500,000, mainly from founders and grants.
• Commercialisation-stage companies typically have operated for 3–5 years, employ 10–49 staff and still make losses. Revenue and assets are in the €100,000–€1 million band, with €500,000–€1 million raised, mainly from owners, one or two equity investments and grants.
• Scale-ups typically have operated for 5–7 years, employ 50–99 staff and are approaching break-even, with equity and debt financing and annual audited accounts.
• Mature companies typically have operated for eight or more years, employ at least 100 staff and are profitable, financed mainly through commercial equity and debt, with three years of annual statements and statutory audits.

Startup, commercialisation and scale-up categories all count as early-stage. EEP also assesses revenue, assets and funds raised across the full matrix. These are benchmarks for an overall classification, not independent or universally cumulative thresholds. If the overall matrix does not yield a clear category, profitability, revenue and funding determine the final classification; age or staff count alone does not decide it.

Eligible budgets can include project staff, equipment, services and the final independent financial audit. Application preparation, ordinary pre-contract costs, depreciation, flat-rate overhead, interest and recoverable VAT are excluded; approved in-kind contributions are an exception to the pre-contract rule. Disclose parallel grants and do not fund the same cost twice. Follow procurement requirements, report at least every six months, obtain written approval before changing the project, and repay unused or incorrectly used funds.