EEP Africa is open to new like-minded funding partners committed to advance its goals. Any new funders need to be accepted by EEP Africa’s Supervisory Board that consists of the current funding partners. Please contact info@ndf.int to setup an introductory call.
The Energy and Environment Partnership Trust Fund (EEP Africa) is a clean energy financing facility hosted and managed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) with funding from Austria, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, NDF, Norway and Switzerland. It is guided by a vision for a climate-resilient, zero-carbon future with the aim of contributing to the achievement of the Paris Agreement on climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
EEP Africa provides early-stage grant and catalytic financing to innovative clean energy projects, technologies and business models in 17 countries across Southern and Eastern Africa. Project financing is supplemented by technical support, investment facilitation and knowledge sharing.
EEP Africa Team
The EEP Africa Team is headed by a fund management unit at NDF in Helsinki, Finland, and operates out of regional hubs in Nairobi, Kenya and Harare, Zimbabwe. The team is comprised of a diverse group of staff and consultants with multi-sectoral profiles and extensive regional expertise in energy access, clean energy financing, energy policy and partnerships, portfolio management, and monitoring and evaluation.
Chiedza Mazaiwana
Portfolio Manager, Harare
Portfolio Monitoring, focal point on Productive Uses of Energy (lead)
Chris Browne
Head of Insights and Learning, Madrid
Leads MEL and knowledge generation across the portfolio
Christian Maguchu
Portfolio Manager, Harare
Portfolio Monitoring, focal point on Productive Uses of Energy
Christina Chigwenembe
Portfolio Manager, Lilongwe
Portfolio Monitoring, focal point on Residential Electricity
Jussi Viding
Team Leader, Helsinki
Overall Fund Management, Donor Relations, and Strategic Partnerships
Karlijn Groen
Portfolio Manager, Nairobi
Portfolio Monitoring, focal point on Clean Cooking
Kenneth Nyange
Portfolio Manager, Nairobi
Portfolio Monitoring, focal point on Mini-grids & Power Generation
Maria Talari
Fund Management Officer, Helsinki
Fund Management Support
Maryanne Wanjiru
MEL Officer, Nairobi
Miguel Oliveira
Graphic Designer
Noel Amoit
Portfolio Manager, Nairobi
Portfolio Monitoring, focal point on Mobility
Tamara Kalunda
Business Development Expert, Nairobi
Business Development Support and Investment Facilitation
EEP Africa is hosted and managed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF). As the fund manager, NDF oversees the overall strategy, management, administration, and performance of EEP Africa throughout its lifecycle. To deliver high-quality services across all programme activities, NDF works with a group of specialised implementation support partners. The current service providers include:
- 60 Decibels – impact performance reports for EEP Africa grantees
- Adalia – SmartME project management platform
- Open Capital – technical assistance and investment facilitation support
- Shortlist – fractional leadership support for EEP Africa grantees
- SNV – implementation support across most EEP Africa activities
What We Do
Clean Energy Financing
EEP Africa provides funding through open, competitive calls for proposals, offering both grants and repayable grants on a co-financing basis to early-stage innovative projects that are in active development.
Investment Facilitation and
Business Development Support
EEP Africa improves the investment readiness of projects and companies through targeted business support services and by facilitating linkages with the global investor community.
Knowledge and Partnerships
EEP Africa leverages the applied learning happening inside its diverse portfolio to develop a wide range of knowledge products, events and partnerships that advance best practices in the clean energy sector.
Where We Work
Botswana
Burundi
Comoros
Eswatini
Kenya
Lesotho
Madagascar
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Rwanda
South Africa
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Work With Us
My organisation would like to become one of EEP Africa’s funding partners. How do we proceed?
Can EEP Africa fund our project? Where do we start?
EEP Africa offers grants and repayable grants to early-stage businesses that incorporate clean energy solutions into their operations. Funding is awarded exclusively through an annual, competitive Call for Proposals (CfP). To determine your eligibility, explore thematic priorities, and learn about the application process and timelines, please visit the Call for Proposals page and review the current CfP Guidelines. Please note that EEP Africa does not provide financing outside the CfP process.
Do you offer technical assistance, investor readiness, or networking support?
Yes. EEP Africa can support its grantees with technical assistance and investment facilitation (on needs basis), including peer to peer learning, visibility opportunities and networking support. Active alumni companies can also benefit from some of the support types. To learn what’s available and how to access it, please visit the Grantee Support page or talk to your Portfolio Manager.
I’m an investor interested in early-stage companies in Southern and Eastern Africa. How can I connect with EEP Africa’s pipeline?
Investors seeking pipeline can explore the companies EEP Africa supports on our Portfolio page. For tailored pipeline discussions, please submit your inquiry via info@eepafrica.org including a short description of your investment “sweet spot” (ticket size, instrument, geographic or thematic focus, etc). Our team will be in touch to set up an introductory call as relevant.
We’d like to explore opportunities for collaboration. How do we set up a meeting?
Due to limited resources, we are unable to accommodate meetings without a clear agenda. Before reaching out, please review our mandate and identify one or two specific areas for potential collaboration that could offer mutual benefit. Once you have a focused proposal, submit your request to info@eepafrica.org.
Can EEP Africa speak at our event or promote our initiative?
For speaking/representation requests, please submit details via info@eepafrica.org. We’re happy to share open funding calls and award nominations from partners on our social channels and in our quarterly newsletter; however, we do not distribute mass emails.
Can EEP Africa sponsor our event or knowledge product?
EEP Africa does not fully sponsor events or knowledge products produced by other organisations. However, we can co-sponsor side-events and publications that we have significantly contributed to and are part of our annual work plan.
Are there any job openings at EEP Africa? How can I apply?
Thank you for your interest in joining EEP Africa. We post all future vacancies on our social media channels (LinkedIn, BlueSky and Facebook). Please follow EEP Africa there for updates.
Funding Partners
Host Institution: The Nordic Development Fund (NDF) is both Fund Manager and funding partner for EEP Africa, and led the relaunch of EEP Africa as a multi-donor trust fund in 2018. Headquartered in Helsinki, NDF provides financing for climate change adaptation and mitigation, with a geographic focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. NDF engages in both the public and the private sector and works in close collaboration with its strategic partners. NDF is the joint Nordic climate and development finance institution established by the governments of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is the operational unit of International Partnerships Austria. ADA has been supporting EEP Africa since 2010. ADA’s main goals are reducing poverty, ensuring peace and protecting the environment while putting particular emphasis on gender equality and climate protection. ADA’s focus themes, such as the water-energy-food security nexus and private sector development, are aligned with the objectives of EEP Africa.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Denmark has supported EEP Africa since 2022. Denmark’s strategy for development cooperation, ‘The World We Share’, aims at fighting and preventing poverty and inequality along with conflict, displacement and irregular migration while strengthening resilience towards climate change. The strategy also underlines that there is a need to speed up the green transition, a need to secure access to clean energy for the poorest people locally and to ensure less CO2 emission globally. Enhanced energy access in Africa align with all of these goals.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs administers Finland’s ODA budget and led EEP Africa from 2010-2017. Finland’s development policy supports eradication of poverty and inequality and the promotion of sustainable development with particular focus on strengthening the rights of the most vulnerable, promoting gender equality and improving climate change preparedness and mitigation. Enhancing energy access is a key component in reaching these goals.
The Directorate for International Development Cooperation is a division of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Iceland and has supported EEP Africa since 2022. The Strategy for International Development Cooperation focuses on the promotion of human rights and gender equality, peace and security, as well as the fight against poverty, social injustice, disparity in living conditions and hunger. Iceland´s International Development Cooperation is guided by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Norad is the Norwegian agency for development cooperation. Norad is an administrative and professional body for international aid, and shall assist in realizing the goals of Norwegian development policy. Together with Norad’s partners and on behalf of Norway, Norad works for a greener future in a world without poverty. Human rights must be respected and no one left out. Through knowledge and cooperation, Norad ensures that Norwegian aid funds contribute to global development.
Norad is administratively subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). In matters concerning the climate and forest investment, Norad is subject to the Ministry of Climate and Environment (KLD). Norad’s tasks are anchored in instructions and award letters from the ministries. Norads manages grants for long-term aid in developing countries and for humanitarian aid, and provides aid and administrative advice to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Climate and Environment.
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is Switzerland’s international cooperation agency within the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and has supported EEP Africa since 2021. The main goal of Swiss development cooperation is to reduce poverty through supporting human and economic development, the protection of the environment and the promotion of peace and good governance. To reach a sustainable systemic change, the SDC is implementing various projects in partnership with various actors including EEP Africa.
Branding
Media enquiries can be sent to info@eepafrica.org.
You can also find links to downloadable EEP Africa branding materials below:
Logos
(formats: JPG, PNG, 4-color, green, white, and CMYK)
