Representatives of 15 energy firms from Europe are in the country and are scheduled to review 25 business projects tabled by members of the private sector for a possible joint venture. The investors, who are on a two-day trade mission, have been working closely with Rwanda Development Board and the private sector on prospects of sealing deals in renewable energy. The platform, spearheaded by the European Union Mission to Rwanda, seeks to establish a formal cooperation with the Energy Private Developers (EPD) to tap into potential resources. If the deals are signed, it will see at least investments worth $50 million (about Rwf41 billion) that is expected to boost the energy sector with about 20 megawatts of electricity. Dr Ivan Twagirashema, the chairperson of EPD at the Private Sector Federation, said the mission is about matchmaking with local players who lack strong financial footing. He said the market size has been relatively small and fall short of foreign currency reserves, which explains the need to woo investors into financing some of the projects that have been struggling. “We can’t have access to funding if we don’t have those European companies on the ground. We are trying to push for memoranda of understanding in both hydro and solar energy,” Twagirashema said. Twagirashema said companies have been developing different projects and the Government has granted them concessions and acquisition of power purchase agreement. “They have an agreement to sell electricity produced from hydro or solar, but many of the companies have been facing financial issues, so they need strategic partners to chip in and help,” he added. Pertti Leppaluoto, the chief commercial operations manager of Areva Solar, a Finish company, said their wish has been to invest in African countries and the Rwandan terrain was ideal. “The business environment here is transparent, and for me, it looks like a good opportunity for mutual cooperation. My dream would be to establish a company here and work with local stakeholders. We discussed several issues and were told how to proceed,” Leppaluoto said. He said discussions will continue in light of both small and big projects. “We like to get involved in big projects and we are normally looking at total project size of $40 million,” Leppaluoto added. The trade missions have also planned various activities under Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme such as organising public private dialogue workshops, and development of a database for projects and associated investment opportunities. For the last five years, Rwanda has registered more than 60 investment projects, worth $800 million (Rwf660 billion) from European countries. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
