PROJECTS

Investment Prospectus for a National Electricity Access Scale Up Program, Guinea

The problem

Only 29 percent of Guinea’s population has access to electricity. The government’s goal of 100 percent electrification was hindered by limited finances and no clear electrification strategy.

How we helped

Castalia developed Guinea’s electrification strategy. We used geospatial modelling to optimize the combination of grid extension, mini-grids and solar home systems to deliver electricity access at least cost. We identified opportunities to use the country’s mines as anchor customers for major hydro-generation and transmission investments, making network extension more viable. We identified gaps in sector regulation and management arrangements, and recommended changes so that the strategy could be implemented. Using financial models, we identified the total investment need and how it could be financed with a mix of public and private capital. Once the strategy was complete we packaged it into an Investor Prospectus and helped the government with an investor conference in Paris to raise the necessary finance.

Impact

The Prospectus and investor conference enabled Guinea to raise over US$100 million to finance the electrification strategy. This is sufficient to provide electricity 600,000 people who lacked electricity before.