IDCOL to support in Malawi’s energy ministry for solar home system programme implementation

Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) will provide consultancy services to the Ministry of Energy in Malawi for "Off-Grid Market Development Fund" under the World Bank-funded Malawi Electricity Access Project.

An agreement has been signed recently in this regard between the two organisations, reads a press release.

The objective of the fund is to address the challenges of scaling up the off-grid market in Malawi and electrify 200,000 new households in remote rural areas.

The project will also have a transformative impact by reaching households who will not be connected to the grid in the foreseeable future by creating an enabling environment for solar companies.

IDCOL, a non-bank financial institution under the government's Economic Relations Division (ERD), catalyses private sector investment in infrastructure, renewable energy, energy efficiency and PPP projects in Bangladesh.

Notably, IDCOL implemented the globally-acclaimed Solar Home System (SHS) programme under which more than 5 million SHSs were installed all over Bangladesh – benefitting 12% of the country's population.

In recent years, IDCOL is expanding its cross-border advisory services under which IDCOL earlier supported the Rural Energy Agency in Tanzania for establishment of Renewable Energy Investment Facility (REIF) supported by the African Development Bank, the release adds.

In Bangladesh, IDCOL provided support in updating the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) which was submitted to the UNFCCC last year.

The company also supported the Climate Vulnerable Forum for the formulation of the "Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan: Decade 2030", a strategic climate plan named after the father of the nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.