Category: Gov Press Releases

The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Philip Ian Mounstephen,
MA, Executive Leader of the Church Mission Society, for election as Bishop of Truro in
succession to the Right Reverend Timothy Martin Thornton, MA, following his resignation on
31 August 2017.

An inquiry group of independent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) panel members has investigated how the merger would affect householders, following initial concerns about the potential impact on ‘standard variable tariffs’ (SVTs) – the most common and expensive energy tariff.

As part of its in-depth review, the inquiry group has provisionally decided to clear the deal after finding that SSE and Npower do not compete closely on SVT prices.

Anne Lambert, Chair of the Inquiry Group, said:

It is vital that householders have a range of energy suppliers to choose from so they can find the best deal for them. With more than 70 energy companies out there, we have found that there is plenty of choice when people shop around.

But many people don’t shop around for their energy. So, we carefully scrutinized this deal, in particular how it would impact people who pay the more expensive standard variable prices.

Our analysis shows that the merger will not impact how SSE and Npower set their SVT prices because they are not close rivals for these customers.

Looking ahead, Ofgem’s price cap is also expected to protect SVT customers.

The CMA found that the number of people switching energy provider is the highest in a decade and the proportion on SVTs has fallen.

However, as previously outlined in its energy market investigation, the CMA has found that those people who do not switch, for whatever reason, are usually on one of the large energy suppliers’ SVTs and pay higher prices. Therefore, the CMA carefully examined whether the merger would change how the large energy suppliers set these prices.

The CMA has found:

• if SVT customers switch, they usually change to a cheaper, non-SVT, tariff
• the risk of losing customers as a result of an SVT price rise will not change with the merger
• evidence that few customers switch between SSE and Npower, instead preferring to move to other suppliers
• SSE and Npower do not compete closely on SVT prices
• SVT prices are mainly driven by changing wholesale costs

Therefore, the merger is not expected to have a significant impact on SVT pricing.

As part of its assessment, the CMA examined evidence from the six large energy suppliers; smaller suppliers; customer groups; and regulators. This included hearings with consumer groups and suppliers in Scotland where SSE has a large share of consumers. None of these raised substantive concerns about the effects of the merger on householders.

The CMA now welcomes views and evidence on its provisional decision by 20 September 2018 before coming to a final view. The statutory deadline for the CMA’s final report is 22 October 2018.

Further details are available on the investigation case page.

Notes to editors

1. This merger investigation is into the proposed deal between SSE Retail and Npower. Any future energy mergers – if they qualify for CMA investigation – will be scrutinized in relation to the specifics of the case.
2. The proposed merger primarily relates to SSE Retail and Npower’s energy supply activities to domestic customers in GB. SSE plc’s other interests (for example in generation and distribution, and supply to business customers) are not included in the proposed merger.
3. The CMA investigated the energy market in 2014-2016 and found many consumers and microbusinesses were paying more than they needed to. The CMA made recommendations to modernise and reform the market. These recommendations are being taken forward by Ofgem and will support consumers’ increasing engagement with the market.
4. The decision-maker on CMA Phase 2 inquiries like this one is the Inquiry Group. The appointed Inquiry Group is chosen from the CMA’s independent panel members who come from a variety of backgrounds, including economics, law, accountancy, business, and public/consumer policy. The membership of an inquiry group reflects a mix of expertise and experience.
5. The CMA is the UK’s primary competition and consumer authority. It is an independent non-ministerial government department with responsibility for carrying out investigations into mergers, markets and the regulated industries and enforcing competition and consumer law. For CMA updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
6. Media enquiries to the CMA should be directed to press@cma.gov.uk or 020 3738 6460.

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

“Prime Minister Theresa May met President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria in Abuja today during her three-day visit to Africa.

“The leaders agreed that the UK and Nigeria are strong partners bilaterally and in the Commonwealth, and that our mutual security and prosperity is strengthened by our close cooperation.

“The leaders agreed to build on our growing commercial ties, including through a new Economic Development Forum to help us identify and overcome barriers to trade and investment.

“The PM talked about how the UK will step up investment into Nigeria as part of its ambition to be the G7’s number one investor in Africa by 2022, including through CDC.

“The Prime Minister welcomed the progress towards securing a significant investment into oil and gas in Bonga South West, and reiterated the importance of the President’s continued leadership in securing the final agreement.

“Nigeria’s stability matters to the UK, and the work we’re doing together to tackle shared threats helps to keep our people safe. Today the leaders witnessed the signing of the first UK-Nigeria security and defence partnership which will formalise and expand this cooperation.

“They also discussed the importance of human rights and the need to ensure our joint work on security is in line with international standards.

“The Prime Minister welcomed Nigeria’s efforts at a national and regional level to combat illegal migration and human trafficking, and their support for the Call to Action to end modern slavery which was launched by the PM at UNGA last year.

“She thanked President Buhari for championing this agenda, including through his chairing of the Economic Community of West African States and his commitment to use Nigeria’s influence to promote African leadership on these issues.

“Finally, the leaders discussed Nigeria’s forthcoming elections and agreed they must be fair, credible and peaceful, and free from interference.

“The Prime Minister and President agreed to continue working in partnership to ensure our bilateral relationship and regional cooperation go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”

The first ever UK-Nigeria security and defence partnership will transform the way we work together to tackle shared threats and keep our people safe, Theresa May said today.

The new Partnership will lay the foundations for us to step up efforts to promote our shared stability, prosperity and growth, through a series of new initiatives to help Nigeria defeat Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa.

The terror groups are responsible for the deaths of over 20,000 people, with almost 2 million still forced to live away from their homes in the north east of the country.

Today’s agreement will help stop this regional menace from spreading and posing a direct threat to the UK.

Under the new partnership the UK will expand its provision of equipment and training for the Nigerian military to help them protect themselves from the threat of improvised explosive devices used by terrorists. This will save soldiers’ lives and better equip them to combat Boko Haram’s insurgency-style tactics.

The UK has also offered to help Nigeria – for the first time – train full army units before they deploy to the North East. Currently, soldiers are trained individually – not in their fighting teams. Training full units will give Nigerian forces a shared understanding and experience that will make them better able to defeat the enemy.

This will build on the UK’s work to help Nigeria train more than 30,000 troops since 2015.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

No-one should live in fear of being targeted by militants or forced from their homes, and no child should lose out on an education because of the threat of terror.

Insecurity, violence and extremism destabilise countries and regions and undermine growth – holding back entire generations from reaching their potential.

It is only when people are safe and communities stable that nations have the opportunity to thrive.

We are determined to work side by side with Nigeria to help them fight terrorism, reduce conflict, and lay the foundations for the future stability and prosperity that will benefit us all.

Through the new partnership – signed in Abuja today – the UK and Nigeria will also work together to:

• deliver a new £13 million programme to educate 100,000 children living in the conflict zone whose teachers have fled and schools been destroyed, by providing equipment, teacher training, and safe places to learn; and
• implement a new Nigerian crisis response mechanism, similar to the UK’s COBR system, to help the government respond to incidents like terror attacks so it can protect its citizens and British nationals and businesses in the country; and
• cut the number of new recruits joining Boko Haram by tackling the lies and false information spread by the group to attract new members – including by working with communities to push out counter-narratives and drawing on the UK’s experience of countering terrorist propaganda at home and as part of the global campaign against Daesh.

Beyond terrorism, the agreement sets out how we will work together to strengthen policing, reduce piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, tackle organised crime – including kidnapping and trafficking, and stamp out corruption. A new civil asset recovery task force will help Nigeria recover stolen assets held in Britain and stop criminals using the UK as a safe haven for the proceeds of corruption.

To enable this closer partnership on security and defence, we have agreed to establish an enhanced human rights dialogue to ensure our joint work is in line with international human rights standards.

The partnership will also create a regular forum for ministers on both sides to meet and discuss common challenges and priorities so we can make sure cooperation continues to evolve to tackle new and emerging security threats.

A series of ambitious new Innovation Partnerships between the UK and Africa are expected to stimulate significant economic growth and support the creation of thousands of new jobs.

The partnerships, announced by the Prime Minister as the UK strengthens ties with the region, will be established in African countries with growing tech sectors where there are young, expanding populations with ideas and innovations developing at a rapid pace.

Building on the UK’s already-strong investment in science and research in Africa, the partnerships will enable UK and African entrepreneurs to share skills and ideas, and encourage future trade.

The increased engagement comes after the Department for International Trade announced the appointment of a dedicated HM Trade Commissioner to Africa. Emma Wade-Smith will now lead a team which will provide expert in-country investment and export advice for UK and African companies.

The Innovation Partnerships are a unique opportunity for UK entrepreneurs to work alongside and collaborate with African entrepreneurs at the cutting-edge of technology. The UK has a lot to gain from this untapped market, and a lot to share with its own expertise.

The tech sector is one of the fastest growing sectors in Africa. The continent’s startups raised 50 per cent more venture capital in 2017 than in 2016, and the majority of this is being invested in South Africa (£130 million), Kenya (£114 million) and Nigeria (£89 million).

Nigeria and Kenya’s technology sectors are also growing rapidly and generate more than ten per cent and 11 per cent of their respective economic output.

Technology can help transform societies by increasing economic participation and creating sustainable jobs and growth. It also increases the potential for countries to ‘leapfrog’ to the latest developments. This happened in Kenya where a small UK aid investment in a startup ten years ago led to the explosion of mobile-phone based money transfer service MPesa.

Today more than half Kenya’s daily GDP goes through mobile money.

The new plans will bring together the best of British science, research and technology to offer tailored support to businesses and entrepreneurs in sectors from health to farming. And in partnership with DIT and DfID, will also open up new trading opportunities for exporters by helping promote stability and creating strong new markets.

The partnerships with South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria include:

● Dedicated UK science, technology and innovation teams who will build on the strong existing science relationships with South Africa and Kenya, including through the shared investments in the Newton Fund and high-end research programmes like the Square Kilometer Array. The aim is to leverage all of UK’s investments in science and research and broaden this into the regions across Africa to achieve real impacts and support mutual interests

● New regional tech experts in Kenya and Nigeria to build links between the UK and Africa’s cutting-edge digital sectors; support a wide range of startups to grow and create jobs; and help those in need of digital skills get access to training

● A significant new DFID programme to accelerate the growth of promising technologies and support startups to grow sustainably, including through early-stage investment, connecting them with private financing, and building connections with UK peers

● The rollout of digital skills and entrepreneurship programmes including TeXchange, Global EdTech Awards, Go Global and Founders and Coders programmes in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, so the UK becomes the partner of choice for startups to expand internationally

Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright said:

These new Innovation Partnerships will not only help countries turbocharge their development, but they will also promote the UK as the place to start and grow a digital business.

Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya’s technology sectors are growing rapidly and generating a significant part of their economic output. This means huge opportunities for UK businesses and for future partnerships.

New ideas, game-changing research and cutting-edge science are good news for our African partners and good news for the UK’s world-leading scientists, technologists and researchers who are representing the country on a global stage.

Emma Wade-Smith, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa, said:

I’m delighted to see these ambitious partnerships being driven forward in one of Africa’s most rapidly-growing sectors.

We’re already seeing fantastic work being done to transform the UK and Africa’s shared entrepreneurial spirit into jobs and growth. In my role, I see first-hand the huge potential that Africa holds for British businesses looking to create modern trading partnerships.

Julian David, CEO of techUK, said:

Africa’s economy is projected to grow by 3.2 per cent in 2018 and to a further 3.5 per cent in 2019, according to the latest 2018 World Bank report. Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa represent a significant part of that growth with technology increasingly underpinning these numbers.

The decision to set up Innovation Partnerships and extend the tech hub network to these African nations shows the Government clearly recognises this opportunity.

The decision will allow the UK tech community to engage with high-growth markets internationally, and in turn provide an important corridor for international communities to engage with our burgeoning UK tech sector.

techUK looks forward to working with the UK Government to grow these Innovation Partnerships for the benefit of the UK tech sector, the host countries and beyond

FURTHER INFO AND NOTES TO EDITORS

Innovation Partnership team

The Innovation Partnerships will bring together UK teams and expertise across Government– providing a ‘one stop shop’ of UK excellence and tailored support.

These teams link UK government departments leading on UK research and technology for development (including DFID, BEIS, DHSC), digital technologies through DCMS and link to future UK-Africa trade and partnership opportunities through the Science and Innovation Network and DIT.

The team will explore a different area of research and technology, and work with different sectors in African countries to help the poorest to work and improve the trading environment.

This is drawing on expertise from across Government to provide a comprehensive package of support and a place for idea exchange and partnerships.

Digital tech experts

The Kenyan and Nigerian teams will form part a wider network of ‘international tech hubs’, which already includes Brazil, India, Israel and South Africa.

They will boost the UK and African digital sectors, help those in need of digital skills get access to training, fuel inclusive economic growth by supporting startups to grow, and facilitate new partnerships between UK and African tech firms.

The teams will also address digital inequality by supporting the provision of digital skills programmes to poor and marginalised people, and making sure these are accessible to all, improving job prospects and allowing them to participate in the growth of their economies.

This programme is about identifying and pairing businesses, venture capital, universities and providing access routes for British businesses and entrepreneurs to new markets. These business-to-business connections will encourage broader innovation, productivity and growth.

The new programmes in Nigeria and Kenya – alongside the UK-South Africa hub announced in June – follow the success of the UK-Israel Tech Hub, which has generated £85 million worth of deals over the past five years, facilitated 175 linkups between the countries’ firms, and had a potential impact of over £800 million for the UK economy.

Recent figures show UK tech and digital firms have seen their international trade grow by more than 20 per cent, with more than £39 billion in services exported in 2016, up from £32 billion in 2015.

DFID tech acceleration programme

The £32m accelerator scheme will:

● Offer access to early stage commercial investment for entrepreneurs by facilitating connections between investors and companies, de-risking private investors and using competitions to encourage investment;

● Build links between the UK and Africa’s cutting-edge tech sectors, develop networks, linking academics, innovators, entrepreneurs and investors between the UK and Africa;

● Provide technical support for new technologies and business models to help early stage businesses scale their ideas;

● Provide a focus on innovations which help the most marginalised, such as people with disabilities – and ensure female innovators also receive support;

● Provide a channel for innovators to outline policy and regulatory barriers which are preventing growth so that local governments can address these challenges.

Examples of new technologies which may be taken to scale from UK’s current research:

● Frontier technologies (for example secure cash transfer).

● New health technologies including diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines or satellite technologies to assist rural areas gain access to healthcare and veterinary innovations to protect livestock and combat antimicrobial resistance

● Mobile technologies to provide farming tips, weather updates and market prices, improving agriculture productivity and nutrition outcomes and scale up of low cost weather stations and observational data coverage through public private partnerships

● Scaling solar, clean energy and water technologies with innovative business models and linking UK expertise with African entrepreneurs, including electric cooking.

Skills and entrepreneurship programmes

To help African entrepreneurs promote their ideas on the world stage, from 2019 we are inviting African innovators to apply for and participate in:

● TeXchange, the flagship international exchange programme increases the flow of digital companies, ideas and technology between the UK and overseas markets;

● Go Global, the international programme which aims to provide early stage startups with the tools needed to expand globally via the UK;

● Founders and Coders, a tuition-free, peer-led learning programme that makes highest quality digital skills training accessible to everyone.

The UK Government is also supporting the annual startup Edtech competition brings the most innovative 15 edtech startups from across the globe to compete for a $50,000 investment prize.

Together this work will help the countries to develop and provide the next generation of ambitious Africans with the digital skills to succeed, while helping to support entrepreneurs in the UK and Africa to solve global issues.

Notes to editors

1. The tech hub initiative is funded by the UK Prosperity Fund, aimed at removing barriers to sustainable and inclusive growth in middle income developing countries, where 70 percent of the world’s poor live.
2. The technology accelerators are funded by DFID.
3. The UK Prosperity Fund will also help to harness the potential of developing markets, boosting prosperity internationally, including for the UK through increased trade and investment.
4. For more information call DCMS press office on 020 7211 6356.
5. DIT launched their Export Strategy last week, with the ambition of increasing U.K. exports to 35% of GDP. The strategy will provide an offer for all businesses, including the 400,000 which the government estimate could be selling their products overseas but currently have no overseas operation.

• Poorer Nigerian region to share in rapid growth of rest of the country
• UK aid will support Nigerian entrepreneurs to grow their businesses

UK aid is supporting innovative companies in Nigeria’s northern states to grow their business and attract investment, while also creating 100,000 new jobs for people in one of the country’s poorest regions, the Prime Minister announced in Lagos today (Wednesday 29th August).

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, but many areas have high levels of poverty with rapidly increasing numbers of young people who have the ambition and potential to change the face of their country but are at risk of becoming frustrated through lack of opportunities.

The new ‘LINKS’ programme announced by the Prime Minister, will improve the incomes of three million people in Nigeria’s poorest states, in turn reducing the drivers of conflict, instability and migration.

Nigeria has a flourishing community of entrepreneurs and innovators, designing disruptive technology to create profitable solutions that work for Africa – which this programme will support.

Examples of new technologies include businesses which use innovative new platforms to coordinate tractors and delivery trucks to be in the right place at the right time; to unlock crowd-funding into growing businesses in need of investment, and to connect farmers with markets, suppliers, information and sources of finance.

Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

Nigeria is a powerhouse of innovation and economic growth, but many Nigerians are still living in extreme poverty, with increasing numbers of ambitious young people facing a lack of jobs and opportunities.

By sharing expertise with innovative businesses the UK is making sure the vibrant growth seen in wealthier areas of Nigeria can also be experienced in the poorer regions, helping the hopeful young population harness the power of technology, innovation and investment to get good jobs and find solutions to their own problems.

This is helping Nigeria to leave poverty behind, enabling vital business sectors to flourish, and opening up opportunities for British business partnerships.

The UK will help companies like these to develop innovative new technologies, business models and services, which have the potential to spur catalytic growth, creating jobs and boosting local economies.

Working in sectors with the most potential for growth, such as leather, agriculture and renewable energy, the programme will share UK expertise to stimulate a 25% increase in the incomes of many people across these states.

By formalising jobs and businesses, LINKS will also increase potentially taxable revenues, which will support the Government to better invest in their own services and reduce dependence on aid.

Notes to editors:

• The LINKS programme (£70 million) will:
  • Raise the incomes of 3 million people, of which 70% will be poor, and 40% will be women.
  • Support the creation of 100,000 jobs, of which 40% will be for women, and 6% will be for people with disabilities.
  • Increase the number of formalised workers and firms, contributing to the raising of potentially taxable private sector revenue by 15%
  • In Kaduna 64% of the population live in poverty, rising to 70% in Kano and 88% in Jigawa. Nigeria’s population as a whole is expected to rise to 400 million from the current 200 million by 2050.
  • Nigeria needs to create 2 million jobs per year to keep pace with the growth of its population.

The initiative is the latest stage of the Ministry of Justice’s ambitious ‘Legal Services are GREAT’ campaign, which aims to promote the strength and breadth of the UK’s legal offer across the globe.

The announcement was made this afternoon, as the Prime Minister visited the securities exchange company FMDQ in Lagos, and is part of a wider government drive to deepen its partnerships with African nations.

It will bring UK and Nigerian legal professionals together to share knowledge, skills and legal expertise and highlight the advantages of UK legal services to wider business growth.

Lord Chancellor David Gauke said:

Our legal services sector is one of the UK’s greatest exports, and we want it to remain at the very heart of our future as a global, outward-looking, free-trading Britain.

We launched the Legal Services are GREAT campaign, to showcase the very best of what the UK’s legal services sector has to offer around the globe, and I’m delighted that we are now extending the campaign to Nigeria.

We know that UK law firms and chambers are keen to increase working in this area and are committed to supporting them to take advantage of the many opportunities on offer.

In 2018, 5 of the world’s fastest-growing economies are African and the continent’s total GDP could well double between 2015 and 2030. The government is keen to support UK law firms and chambers to maximise the potential of this emerging market.

A delegation of legal representatives will visit Nigeria later in the year to meet counterparts and create new business opportunities.

The Legal Services are Great campaign was launched by Lord Keen in Singapore last year and has already delivered trade delegations to Kazakhstan and China.

The campaign promotes the UK’s £24 billion legal services sector overseas, showcasing the very best of what the UK’s legal services sector has to offer and helping to bring new business to the UK for our legal firms, chambers and courts.

As the UK leaves the European Union, the City of London will play an even greater role in financing the fastest-growing economies across Africa and the world, the Prime Minister will say today in Nigeria.

She will visit securities exchange company FMDQ in Lagos which is playing a central role in developing, driving and diversifying Nigeria’s booming financial market.

UK-Nigeria trade was worth £4.2 billion last year and British companies including British Airways, GSK, Shell, Diageo, Unilever and Standard Chartered have successful and long-established operations in Nigeria, many of which date back to the 1930s.

111 African companies have already come to the UK to list on the London Stock Exchange, to raise money in one of the world’s leading financial centres. Today Theresa May will welcome the commitment from manufacturer Dangote Cement to list on the LSE as she meets Chairman Aliko Dangote.

Also today, oil and gas company Seplat Petroleum is committing to list its $350 million eurobond programme on the London Stock Exchange.

To encourage even deeper collaboration on capital markets between London and Lagos, the Prime Minister will also announce the launch of a new initiative to further support Nigeria’s capital markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Britain is a leading global hub for FinTech which contributes over £5 billion to the UK economy every year and Lagos is at the forefront of FinTech innovation in Africa. The first UK-Africa FinTech partnership will use the UK’s unique expertise to support African entrepreneurs, improve access to financial services for consumers and encourage new investment.

Nigerian entrepreneurs will be connected with UK FinTech investors and business mentors to get the finance and advice they need to start and grow their companies, while a dedicated fund worth up to £2 million will support Nigerian innovators as they turn their ideas into successful businesses.

To support African entrepreneurs and help British companies enter this rapidly expanding market the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will work with regulators in Africa to share the UK’s successful experience of developing regulation and policies that encourage innovation and protect consumers. The FCA will also explore new mechanisms to help financial innovators try out new ideas.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

Already the finance and business links between Lagos and London are bringing enormous benefits to businesses and people in the UK and in Nigeria and today’s announcements deepen this burgeoning partnership even further.

London is a world leading financial centre and as the UK leaves the European Union, it will play an even greater role in financing the fastest-growing economies across Africa and the world

While in Lagos the Prime Minister will also announce:

• the launch of a 12 month skill sharing programme – Legal Services are GREAT – which will see UK legal professionals working with their Nigerian counterparts to support and build the country’s legal industry, sharing knowledge, skills and experience in areas such as infrastructure and science, and providing advice on issues like cross-border transactions. The UK legal system’s reputation for transparency, certainty and predictability will help increase investor confidence in Nigeria’s business environment while creating new business opportunities for UK law firms and chambers
• the creation of new Innovation Partnerships in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, bringing together British and African expertise to address global challenges and provide tailored support to businesses across the continent to help them connect, grow and trade
• a new programme to help innovative companies in northern Nigeria attract investment and scale up their businesses – helping 3 million people earn more money and creating 100,000 new jobs – almost half of which will go to women

The UK Government is supporting trade between the two countries, including with up to £750 million available for British businesses who want to export to Nigeria through UK Export Finance.

• British expertise to help small UK and African energy businesses grow
• Two thirds of sub-Saharan African population has no access to electricity

UK aid is supporting the growth of innovative solar technology companies which are providing clean energy to off-grid households in Africa, Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin announced today (Wednesday 29th August) as she accompanied the Prime Minister on a visit to Nigeria. This will improve the lives of over 11 million people while boosting UK business opportunities.

Approximately two-thirds of the population across sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity. Innovative off-grid technology such as pay-as-you-go household solar systems can provide this much-needed modern energy.

This technology empowers women by reducing their need to travel for energy, helps children study in the evening, boosts small businesses which can operate more efficiently with reliable power, and reduces the need to use dangerous, polluting fuel sources such as kerosene.

To boost opportunities for businesses in this growing market, UK aid, through the Department for International Development, is:

• supporting early stage businesses in Africa to design innovative household solar technologies and break into new markets through the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund. This programme will help up to 1.5 million poor people in sub-Saharan Africa access clean, affordable modern energy by 2022, with a focus on women and children;
• using British expertise to help governments break down barriers to the growth of solar companies in Africa and lay the groundwork in 14 partner sub-Saharan African countries for innovative solar companies to grow, increasing access to modern, clean energy for 10 million people; and
• scaling up its support to the Energise Africa impact investment platform, to help 1,500 new UK small investors provide the critical finance needed to connect 125,000 more African people to affordable, reliable and clean solar energy.

Minister for Africa Harriett Baldwin said:

Africa’s solar industry is vibrant and exciting, full of potential to transform the lives of millions of people who are still living off the grid.

By sharing British expertise we’re allowing this industry to flourish, helping the poorest to access clean, sustainable energy, while also opening up opportunities for UK business and investment. This is a win for African countries and a win for the UK.

The innovative solar sector is vibrant and booming in some areas of Africa, but the growth of companies is often restricted by market barriers such as a lack of access to finance and business support, high tariffs on essential components, lack of infrastructure for mobile payments, and lack of appropriate disposal facilities.

Enabling these companies to grow is not only benefitting some of the poorest households with life-changing access to energy, but creating jobs and boosting local economies to trigger long-term sustainable economic development.

Strengthening the solar market in Africa is opening up opportunities for the UK’s own pioneering solar industry to access the untapped potential offered by African markets. Proven examples of this include Sollatek, a Slough-based firm which, working in partnership in Africa and with investment via Energise Africa, has become one of the leading providers of specialist solar electronic equipment in East Africa.

Notes to Editors

• A new round of the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF, £16 million) is being launched, providing grants, loans and business development support to small businesses creating innovative household solar products and appliances in five sub-Saharan African countries (Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Senegal and Ethiopia).
• This will help up to 1.5 million poor people in sub-Saharan Africa access clean, affordable modern energy by 2022, with a focus on women and children.
• Support to DFID’s Clean Energy Technical Assistance Facility (£15.5 million) will work across 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and Kenya, to create a regulatory environment in which solar companies can flourish, increasing access to modern energy for 10 million poor people, with a focus on women and children.
• An additional £1.6 million of capital to the Energise Africa platform will work alongside partners such as Virgin Unite to crowd investment from 1,500 new small UK investors, and connect at least 125,000 more people to clean, reliable energy – allowing the programme to reach a total of 325,000 people.
• In addition to household systems, the programme will also help provide power to schools, hospitals, and farmers – boosting vital services and economies. The funding can be returned and used over and again, which means its impact will grow further for many years to come, maximising value for money for the UK taxpayer.
• Energise Africa to date has raised £4.8 million from 1,000 investors to help more than 195,000 people in Arica access affordable solar energy.