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RFAs: Power Africa-Funded Empower East and Central Africa Activity

Deadline: 24 January 2025

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is inviting applications for its Productive Use of Energy (PUE), Market Expansion grant window to de-risk market expansion and scale up the sale of PUE systems and devices in East and Central Africa.

The purpose of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Power Africa-funded activity in East and Central Africa – the Empower East and Central Africa (EECA) program- is to increase the availability of and access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and clean energy in East and Central Africa to reach measurable development outcomes. These measurable development outcomes include economic growth, increased resilience, improved livelihoods, and increased inclusive access to electricity-enabled services in areas such as agriculture, water provision, education, transportation, and telecommunications. EECA is implemented across 14 countries: Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. RTI International is the lead implementing partner for the Power Africa EECA activity. Power Africa implements and measures progress toward the following three key development objectives (DOs):

  • DO1: Ending energy poverty
  • DO2: Accelerating a carbon free future
  • DO3: Bolstering energy sector investment and innovation.

Categories

  • For the purposes of this RFA, PUE is defined as the use of renewable energy to power appliances or devices to increase income and productivity. The proposed PUE devices can be in any of the following main categories:
    • Off-grid energy solutions to mechanize agriculture value chain processes: grain milling, oil extraction, refrigeration, transport, etc. It is expected that the power’s use will address business solution(s) that will generate ongoing revenue and profits to sustain the enterprise.
    • Solar water pumps.
    • Agricultural post-harvest processing and storage devices: mill, huller, thresher, crusher, paste maker, packers, oil press, cold rooms, and refrigerators or freezers.
    • Dairy, poultry, and livestock: cold room, refrigerator, freezer, ice maker, milk tank, cold transport, egg incubator, and electric fences.
    • Fisheries: fishing lights, solar water pumps, ice maker, cold transport, and solar dryers.
    • Renewable energy-powered light industry applications: sewing machine, loom, drill, hammer, soldering iron, welder, compressor, and carpentry tool kits.
    • Renewable energy-powered devices for restaurants and hospitality: fans, televisions, refrigerators, ovens or bakeries, phone chargers, and electric pressure cookers.

Funding Information

  • Anticipated Grant Funding
    • The funding under this RFA will depend on the quality of the content, number of applications received, and availability of funds. Applicants are encouraged to leverage additional funds to support activities. The individual grant award funding for this RFA (PUE, Market Expansion-RFA/USAID EECA/02/2024) will be no more than U.S. dollars (USD) 250,000. Applications for grant amounts that exceed this range will be reviewed and, if approved, will be restricted to USD 250,000 of grant funding. The proposed budget will be reviewed to ensure it meets the cost principles requirement of allowability, allocability, and reasonability. All submitted budgets must be in USD.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Types of Eligible Organizations
    • This RFA is open to private sector companies that have been in the PUE development, sales, and/or distribution chain for at least one year.
  • Applicants should be legally registered and physically established in any of the 14 countries where EECA is implemented. These are: Burundi, Central African Republic, DRC, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Gabon, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Applicants must have an in-depth understanding of these countries’ energy sectors.
  • Applicants must demonstrate satisfactory and proven experience in the PUE business. (Applicants should at least have one year of operation experience with proven sales of at least 100 PUE devices.)
  • Applicants must demonstrate evidence of an available inventory of PUE devices. For example, 50 solar water pumps, 20 solar mills, 50 refrigerators, 200 fishing lights, etc.
  • Applicants must demonstrate sound financial health, including two years of audited financial statements, established financial management processes and procedures, and dedicated financial management staff.

For more information, visit USAID.