In Burundi, the Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFI) is providing a million dollars in funding to the American company Amped Innovation. The aim is to electrify 3,000 households in rural areas using solar home systems.
Good news for Amped Innovation. As part of its operations in Burundi, the company based in San Mateo, California, in the United States of America, has received funding of one million dollars. The funds come from the country window of the Electrification Financing Initiative (EDFI ElectriFI) for Burundi.
This East African country “has been neglected by the commercial investment community for many years, mainly due to large deficits and foreign exchange shortages. Yet the electricity needs of the local population are immense. Against this backdrop, we are delighted to have found in Amped a commercial partner willing to bridge this energy gap,” says Lionel Dieu, Senior Investment Officer at EDFI ElectriFI.
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According to him, the aim of this initiative is to electrify 3,000 rural households in Burundi. Amped Innovation distributes solar home systems and other household appliances powered by photovoltaic solar energy. The company, co-led by Andi Kleissner and Kurt Kuhlmann, will use the EDFI ElectriFi funding to “actively invest in resources in Burundi. Amped will explore new business development opportunities, enhancing the potential for sustainable energy growth in the country,” says EDFI.
Amped’s investments will improve the level of access to electricity in Burundi. The country is one of the worst performers in terms of electrification in Africa, with a rate of only 10% according to the World Bank’s 2021 report. An average of 35 MW of Burundi’s total installed capacity of 82 MW was operational in 2019 for a population of nearly 13 million.
Jean Marie Takouleu
