TDB GROUP’S TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND AND WORLD BANK GROUP ADVANCE ENERGY ACCESS IN AFRICA THROUGH FIVE NEW GRANT AGREEMENTS UNDER THE ASCENT PROGRAMME

Media contacts:

Trade and Development Bank Group
Anne-Marie Iskandar
Senior Communications Officer
Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations
Anne-Marie.Iskandar@tdbgroup.org

World Bank Group
Vera Rosauer
Senior External Affairs Officer
vrosauer@worldbank.org

BioLite
Claire Baken Munene
Director of Business Development
Emerging Markets
claire@bioliteenergy.com

BURN
Evelyne Kopar
Head of Communications
evelyne.kopar@burnmfg.com

Ignite Energy Access
Gal Cohen
Pr@ignite.solar

RDG Collective
Rune Gunnar Dige
CEO & Founder
rune@rdg-home.com

Yellow
Ross Thompson
Group Head, Solar
ross@yellow.africa

Nairobi, Kenya, November 2025 – The Trade and Development Fund (TDF), the concessional arm of Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), and the World Bank Group (WBG) have signed five new grant agreements under the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) Programme. The agreements, totalling USD 10.8 million, will support clean cooking and distributed renewable energy (DRE) solutions across eight African countries, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia, with the goal of expanding access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy.

The grants, implemented through TDB’s Regional Energy Access Financing Facility (REAF), represent the first disbursements under ASCENT’s Results-Based Financing (RBF) window. Designed to incentivise verified energy access outcomes, the RBF mechanism provides performance-based grants to private companies delivering off-grid solar and clean cooking technologies in underserved and frontier markets.

Through these partnerships, more than 350,000 systems including solar home systems, clean cookstoves, and other distributed renewable energy solutions, are expected to be deployed, benefiting approximately 1.8 million people, many of them women and youth. The five grantee companies selected, BioLite, BURN, Ignite Energy Access, RDG, , and Yellow, will play a catalytic role in accelerating off-grid energy access and supporting national climate goals across the participating countries.

Speaking during the ceremony, Ms. Mary Kamari, Executive Director of the Trade and Development Fund (TDF) stated, “This milestone marks an important step in operationalizing ASCENT’s private sector window and reflects TDF’s leading efforts to advance Africa’s clean energy transition. In partnership with the World Bank Group, we are bridging financing gaps and enabling enterprises to expand clean energy access for underserved communities. These grants strengthen TDB Group’s broader climate and sustainable finance agenda by leveraging concessional resources to drive innovation, inclusion, and measurable social and environmental impact.”

”BioLite is thrilled to partner with TDB Group under the Ascent Program to expand clean energy access in five African markets alongside our distribution partners, reaching hundreds of thousands of off-grid families and improving lives while reducing carbon emissions at scale.” Commented Mr. Ethan Kay, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, BioLite.

“This partnership with the Trade and Development Fund and the World Bank Group demonstrates how public finance can support carbon credit pre-finance to deliver real, scalable impact. Through the ASCENT Programme, BURN will expand access to our world-class clean cooking appliances across several countries—reducing household fuel costs, cutting millions of tonnes of CO₂, and creating jobs within our value chain. This is a great investment that will provide a real return not only for our 429,000 households but also for TDB,” said Peter Scott, Founder and CEO, BURN.

”We are thrilled to partner with TDF under the World Bank’s ASCENT program, a strategic initiative redefining how results-based financing accelerates energy access across Africa. This collaboration combines TDF’s financial innovation with Ignite’s vast operational reach and advanced digital MRV systems, delivering unprecedented transparency and accountability through real-time tracking of every deployment and measurable impact at scale. With operations in 12 countries and a broad portfolio of distributed renewable energy solutions, Ignite is proud to bring its scale, expertise, and innovation to this landmark program, setting a new standard for performance, integrity, and impact in Africa’s clean energy transition,” stated Mr. Yariv Cohen, Chief Executive and Founder, Ignite Energy Access.

“This partnership represents more than just an investment, it is a shared commitment to transforming lives through clean, reliable, and affordable energy. At RDG, we have always believed that access to power is the foundation of opportunity. Through the ASCENT Program, we are scaling our impact across Zambia and the DRC as part of our broader ambition to be part of the movement that will impact 300 million lives across Africa. This investment will allow us to build an ecosystem of empowerment—one that connects communities, enables entrepreneurship, and drives inclusive growth” stated Mr. Rune Gunnar Dige, CEO and Founder, RDG Collective.

”It was great to be part of an event which had such significant role players working together to achieve the goals of the M300″ shared Mr Mike Heyink, Co-Founder, Yellow.

Within the wider ASCENT Programme, TDF, a subsidiary of the Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group), is implementing the Results-Based Financing (RBF) component of the Regional Energy Access Financing Facility (REAF), which has a total envelope of USD 12 million dedicated to supporting distributed renewable energy and clean cooking enterprises. The initiative reinforces TDF’s role in blending finance for inclusion, climate resilience, and sustainable growth, while complementing TDB Group’s ongoing partnership with the World Bank Group and other sustainable development initiatives that deliver measurable social and environmental impact across the continent.

About TDB Group
Established in 1985, the Trade and Development Bank Group (TDB Group) is an African regional multilateral development bank, with a mandate to finance and foster trade, regional economic integration, and sustainable development in Africa. TDB Group counts several subsidiaries and strategic business units including Trade and Development Banking, TDB Asset Management (TAM), the Trade and Development Fund (TDF), TDB Captive Insurance Company (TCI), the ESATAL fund management company and TDB Academy.

About the Trade and Development Fund (TDF)
The Trade and Development Fund (TDF), TDB Group’s concessional window, supports the sustainable development agendas of its Member States by providing them with alternative financing solutions, including concessional and impact-driven funding, risk-sharing solutions, technical assistance and program management services. TDF’s initiatives serve a wide range of stakeholders, from sovereign entities to financially underserved groups such as MSMEs, women, and youth.

About BioLite
Founded in 2009, BioLite is a social enterprise that designs and manufactures affordable, durable energy products that transform how off-grid households and businesses cook, charge, and light their lives. Its portfolio includes biomass cookstoves, solar lanterns, solar home systems, and portable solar power stations that address critical health, social, and environmental challenges. BioLite partners with more than 100 distributors working at the last mile to deliver clean energy technologies to end users reducing climate degradation, improving health outcomes, and generating economic opportunity. A Certified B Corporation and Climate Neutral Certified company, BioLite has delivered more than two million products across 100+ countries, reaching 15 million people and offsetting over five million tons of CO₂ emissions to date.

About BURN
Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, BURN is now Africa’s leading clean cooking company and one of the only carbon project developers to cover the full carbon value chain, from project design and in-house monitoring to credit issuance. The company operates across 11 African countries, employing 3,000+ people.  To date, BURN’s efficient stoves have generated 9.5M Gold Standard credits, reduced indoor air pollution by 65-100%, and protected forests by saving over 35.4M tons of wood.

About Ignite Energy Access
Abu Dhabi–based Ignite Energy Access is Africa’s largest footprint provider of Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) solutions, dedicated to delivering affordable, reliable, and sustainable infrastructure to underserved communities across the continent. Operating in 12 countries and serving over 20 million people, Ignite offers the most extensive range of DRE solutions in Africa – transforming lives, fostering economic growth, and accelerating the continent’s clean energy transition.

About RDG Collective
RDG is a leading renewable energy company transforming energy access across Africa through sustainable, reliable, and affordable solutions. Operating in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, RDG delivers solar home systems and productive use products that empower communities and drive inclusive growth. Guided by its mission to empower the future, RDG leverages innovation, inclusive financing, and strong partnerships to empower businesses and households.

About Yellow
Yellow is one of Africa’s fastest growing fintechs. It has enabled 850 000 customers to get access to electricity or the internet for the first time. Yellow has developed a suite of digital platforms that enable solar and smartphone asset finance, the two most important but unmet needs of 70% of the African population. Headquartered in South Africa and founded in 2018, Yellow serves customers in 7 African countries and has been profitable since 2019. The management team is growing a firm foundation to reach 10 million households by 2030.