Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers

This paper develops a classification of investor risks and surveys 51 private investors and financiers in the power sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper aims for a better understanding of what can be done to attract private solutions to fill the...

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Main Authors: Probst, Benedict, Holcroft, Richard, Huenteler, Joern, Balabanyan, Ani, Tipping, Andrew, Robinson, Peter
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/463381593008837784/Attracting-Private-Solutions-and-Participation-in-the-Power-Sector-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Findings-from-a-Survey-of-Investors-and-Financiers
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33994
id okr-10986-33994
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-339942022-09-20T00:11:59Z Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers Probst, Benedict Holcroft, Richard Huenteler, Joern Balabanyan, Ani Tipping, Andrew Robinson, Peter PRIVATE INVESTMENT INVESTMENT RISK ELECTRICITY FINANCIAL VIABILITY EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES POWER SECTOR PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION MINI-GRIDS POWER SECTOR REFORM SUSTAINABLE ENERGY This paper develops a classification of investor risks and surveys 51 private investors and financiers in the power sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper aims for a better understanding of what can be done to attract private solutions to fill the investment gap. It finds that the average investor assigns more weight to power sector policy and regulatory framework risks than to the wider sector and country context risks. And, despite many challenges, investors perceive three segments as ready for private solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa: power generation, off-grid electrification, and mini-grids. Investors see lower readiness in distribution, transmission, and retail. The paper finds that the average investor is forward-looking, as neither the track record of the power sector nor the firm’s personal track record is as important as the growth potential in the market. The paper uses the findings to reality-check data-based measures of regulatory readiness, namely the Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy and Power Sector Reform Index and analyzes which elements correlate best with investor sentiment to optimize and streamline these indexes accordingly. The results provide important lessons for governments and development partners to devise appropriate de-risking instruments tailored to the risks that matter most to investors. 2020-06-25T15:58:06Z 2020-06-25T15:58:06Z 2020-06 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/463381593008837784/Attracting-Private-Solutions-and-Participation-in-the-Power-Sector-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Findings-from-a-Survey-of-Investors-and-Financiers http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33994 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9299 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Africa Sub-Saharan Africa
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic PRIVATE INVESTMENT
INVESTMENT RISK
ELECTRICITY
FINANCIAL VIABILITY
EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES
POWER SECTOR
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION
MINI-GRIDS
POWER SECTOR REFORM
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
spellingShingle PRIVATE INVESTMENT
INVESTMENT RISK
ELECTRICITY
FINANCIAL VIABILITY
EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES
POWER SECTOR
PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
OFF-GRID ELECTRIFICATION
MINI-GRIDS
POWER SECTOR REFORM
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
Probst, Benedict
Holcroft, Richard
Huenteler, Joern
Balabanyan, Ani
Tipping, Andrew
Robinson, Peter
Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers
geographic_facet Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9299
description This paper develops a classification of investor risks and surveys 51 private investors and financiers in the power sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper aims for a better understanding of what can be done to attract private solutions to fill the investment gap. It finds that the average investor assigns more weight to power sector policy and regulatory framework risks than to the wider sector and country context risks. And, despite many challenges, investors perceive three segments as ready for private solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa: power generation, off-grid electrification, and mini-grids. Investors see lower readiness in distribution, transmission, and retail. The paper finds that the average investor is forward-looking, as neither the track record of the power sector nor the firm’s personal track record is as important as the growth potential in the market. The paper uses the findings to reality-check data-based measures of regulatory readiness, namely the Regulatory Indicators for Sustainable Energy and Power Sector Reform Index and analyzes which elements correlate best with investor sentiment to optimize and streamline these indexes accordingly. The results provide important lessons for governments and development partners to devise appropriate de-risking instruments tailored to the risks that matter most to investors.
format Working Paper
author Probst, Benedict
Holcroft, Richard
Huenteler, Joern
Balabanyan, Ani
Tipping, Andrew
Robinson, Peter
author_facet Probst, Benedict
Holcroft, Richard
Huenteler, Joern
Balabanyan, Ani
Tipping, Andrew
Robinson, Peter
author_sort Probst, Benedict
title Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers
title_short Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers
title_full Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers
title_fullStr Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers
title_full_unstemmed Attracting Private Solutions and Participation in the Power Sector in Sub-Saharan Africa : Findings from a Survey of Investors and Financiers
title_sort attracting private solutions and participation in the power sector in sub-saharan africa : findings from a survey of investors and financiers
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2020
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/463381593008837784/Attracting-Private-Solutions-and-Participation-in-the-Power-Sector-in-Sub-Saharan-Africa-Findings-from-a-Survey-of-Investors-and-Financiers
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33994
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