Climate Finance
India’s ambitious energy plans don’t stop at its own borders.
The Asian country is investing heavily in African energy expansion as well. It recently opened a $10 billion line of credit to African nations — primarily for energy-infrastructure development — matching a $10 billion commitment to the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative from multiple countries.
India’s goal is to boost energy access for some of the nearly 650 million people in Africa without electricity — and to create new opportunities outside India for its homegrown equipment and construction businesses.
Nearly 300 million Indians also live without access to power, a problem the government has vowed to resolve by 2019 through a mix of grid, micro-grid and off-grid power projects.
The south-to-south trade-and-investment relationship between India and Africa has surged in recent years, with India now standing as Africa’s fifth largest investor, behind the U.S., U.K., France and China.
Signifying the deepening relationship, the African Development Bank will host its annual meeting in Ahmedabad in May.
This post originally appeared in ImpactAlpha’s daily newsletter. Get The Brief.
Photo credit: AP
