" [1]August 30, 2012, Dakar, Senegal - Government officials, Private Sector, finance and technology providers as well as development experts have convened a meeting in Dakar, under the New Partnership for Africa Development (NEPAD) Agency’s African Bioenergy Investment programme.
The meeting aims to unlock investment opportunities in the bioenergy potential of West Africa by raising awareness, stimulating productive public private partnership and as well as work out how best to remove impediments to private sector investment in bioenergy.
The overall objective is to encourage investment in bioenergy in Africa by the private sector to improve energy security, increase local clean energy production and use, increase job creation, facilitate technology transfer and manage the environmental impact of industrial waste.
Addressing participants via video-link from Johannesburg during the official opening ceremony, NEPAD Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki said: “I would like to urge all participants to the symposium to think radically on how to forge strong partnerships which can tackle developmental challenges in Africa.” Dr Mayaki highlighted NEPAD’S role in ensuring that the decisions that are taken on Energy are implemented.
The development of the private sector industry in Africa is largely hampered by the poor, unreliable and expensive energy services. This impacts negatively the agricultural and industrial productivity and output of the Continent, and therefore compromises the ability of the private sector to provide sufficient jobs.
"Almost all countries in the West Africa contain significant amounts of bioenergy. The main problem is underutilisation of this potential. One of the main reasons explaining this fact is indeed the issue of funding. This is a major constraint to the promotion and development of bioenergy.” said Mr Guissé, chief of staff of the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Senegal.
The availability of affordable and modern energy sources in sufficient quantity is critical for further economic growth and the improvement of the living condition of the population. In countries like Senegal, power shortage costs to the national economy 1 to 2 % growth per year; preventing the country to use its full production potential. Overall in the continent, electricity demand grows at an average of 5 to 10 % per year fuelled by the increasing needs of the private sector and the population.
And head of NEPAD’s Energy Programme, Professor Mosad Elmissiry said his Agency’s objective was to drive Bioenergy programme activities and to ensure positive results. “This is by virtue of NEPAD being a result-oriented organisation,” said Professor Elmissiry.
In July 2012, a similar meeting of leading experts and investors in Bioenergy, as well as public and private sector representatives met in Johannesburg South Africa to explore how the Bioenergy industry can use more of Africa’s own national resources to deliver improved energy and food security.
