On 18 and 19 February, Making Solar Bankable (MSB) took place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
MSB focused on unlocking capital for new solar project development in emerging markets, with over 450 participants from more than 250 public and private sector initiatives joining. Representatives from over 40 countries discussed the financing of solar projects available in emerging and frontier markets. While there often is an abundance in liquidity, the renewable energy sector still faces challenges with bankable scale projects and processes to allocate them. MSB offered experts from the financing and developing sectors the chance to find each other, and presented a realistic overview of opportunities and challenges in financing solar energy projects.
The event was well attended and well received by the participants:
"A landmark event signaling the tipping point of the breakthrough of solar in developing countries."
"This was a great event for financiers and developers to discuss how to work together most effectively to bring solar to developing countries."
"Solarplaza and FMO delivered a conference focused on the critical issues and challenges of our clean energy industry, helping to shed light on the exciting future ahead."
As part of the conference, a project pitch competition for local developers was organized to make their projects more ‘bankable’. Winner of the Access Power-FMO Solar Shark Tank Competition was Africa Growth & Energy Solutions (AGES) UK PLC. AGES with their portfolio development of solar photovoltaic power station projects in Sierra Leone.
Opening speech of FMO's CEO Nanno Kleiterp
This first edition of MSB was organized by Solar Plaza and FMO, the Dutch development bank, with high level speakers from various fields, including Jeremy Leggett, Founder of Solarcentury, Thierry Lepercq, Co-Founder & Chairman Solairedirect, Robert Swan, founder of 2041 foundation, and many more.
Go to http://www.makingsolarbankable.com/ to find more information about MSB.
