Overview and objective

The Italy-UNDP Energy Partnership was launched in 2022 jointly by UNDP and the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (IMEES) with the aim of to reducing the current energy access gap in developing countries by identifying clean energy initiatives and matching them with the required sources of finance.

Through its extensive country-level presence and convening power among local actors and institutions UNDP is the ideal implementing partner for such a programme, which requires coordination across key stakeholders of the respective national energy landscapes. Furthermore, as an international development institution, UNDP is well-positioned to build new partnerships among the innovative leaders in each of the national markets and the international sources of finance that will support the growing energy needs of developing economies. 

Approach

In the initial phase, the partnership will focus on a set of 8 countries: Algeria, Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Rwanda, Comoros, Mozambique, and Eswatini.  

• In Phase 1, UNDP Rome Centre and UNDP country offices will identify action opportunities that will be converted to country-specific investment plans for scaling up energy access and other effective clean and sustainable energy solutions.
• In Phase 2, these investment plans will be backed with investment-grade feasibility assessments and project designs that will enable both public and private financing to be deployed towards bankable initiatives and will serve to assist each country to then attract financing and funding from an investment vehicle that will allow for blended finance (including grant, private equity, and debt financing, together with a guaranteed scheme) to be deployed alongside policy de-risking technical assistance from UNDP towards a concrete portfolio of projects on sustainable energy.