currency risk

Whilst African solar is still firmly an emerging market, investors have confirmed that issues remain with development finance, insofar as it is holding back the market from truly taking off. Whilst development finance institutions (DFIs) are a crucial part of allowing the market to find its feet, the continent’s economic infrastructure needs to move beyond the realm of development finance for commercial financiers to be enticed.

A consortium of international chambers of commerce has advised the Vietnamese government that its draft solar PPA template is “non-bankable” and cannot attract financing for PV in Vietnam, particularly for medium and utility-scale projects, according to documents seen by PV Tech.

San Francisco-based SunFunder is a solar finance business with a mission to unlock capital for solar energy in emerging markets. It primarily aggregates investment capital through its beyond-the-grid and Solar Empowerment funds, thereby giving accredited investors the opportunity to invest in their on-grid and off-grid solar portfolio. Andrea Griffin, SunFunder’s vice president of global business development, stopped by PV Tech to discuss investment, currency risk and energy storage in West Africa.