The launch of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund (REEF) marked a significant moment in Senegal’s pursuit of a just and inclusive energy transition. The event, held during the Forum Invest in Diamniadio, brought together senior government officials, development partners, and private investors to unveil what is poised to become the flagship vehicle of Senegal’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).

Since establishing its presence in Senegal in 2021, the African Climate Foundation (ACF) has worked systematically to strengthen the enabling conditions for a just energy transition: supporting national policy frameworks, empowering civil society, building institutional capacity, and catalysing innovative finance solutions. The REEF represents a culmination of this long-term strategy, translating ACF’s vision of systemic transformation into a tangible instrument for climate and development impact.

Lamine Cissé, Senegal Country Manager, described the REEF as “a decisive turning point in Senegal’s energy transition financing strategy”. He underscored ACF’s belief that meaningful transformation requires more than isolated projects, it demands ecosystem-level change.

“Our approach is deliberately systemic, it is not limited to project financing, but seeks to strengthen the entire ecosystem required for a successful energy transition.”

Since 2021, the ACF has supported 29 strategic interventions in Senegal, advancing the country’s transition towards a low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient future. These efforts span four key areas: policy and institutional strengthening, through support for Senegal’s low-emission development strategy, a forthcoming green industrialisation strategy, and renewable energy promotion plans for Dakar; social and civic engagement, by empowering local civil society and communities to influence and shape the national energy agenda; financial ecosystem development, by helping institutions such as La Banque Agricole access climate finance and by supporting the establishment of the new Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund; and green industry and efficiency, by promoting clean production, circular economy practices, and electric mobility infrastructure. Together, these interventions reflect ACF’s commitment to making Senegal a model for just and inclusive energy transition in Africa.

These interventions laid the foundation for REEF, a catalytic instrument designed to de-risk and mobilise large-scale private investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. REEF will deploy two core instruments: subordinated debt and minority equity participation, both structured to absorb risk and make clean energy projects more bankable. By extending longer loan tenures and tailored financing, the Fund aims to bridge a critical market gap that has long constrained private investment in renewables.

“REEF is more than a financing tool, it is a systemic catalyst,” Lamine affirmed. “It will mobilise far greater flows of private capital while ensuring Senegalese developers and communities remain in the driver’s seat of the energy transition.”

The Director-General of FONSIS, Babacar Gning, echoed these sentiments, describing the REEF as “an accelerator of universal electricity access and green industrialisation.”

With a target size of €200 million and a pipeline of nearly 40 projects valued at approximately €2.5 billion, REEF will play a pivotal role in achieving Senegal’s JETP goals – increasing renewable energy’s share in the electricity mix from 30% to 40% by 2030, while creating over 5000 green jobs and expanding access to clean energy for millions.

Gning highlighted that the REEF emerged from close collaboration between FONSIS, the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Mines, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and the ACF, whose contribution he described as transformative.

“The African Climate Foundation and the African Development Bank were among the first partners to help transform an idea into a structured project.”

The Fund’s design ensures rigorous governance and transparency. It will be managed by an independent fund management entity, overseen by an investment committee composed primarily of independent members. This structure is intended to ensure strong fiduciary standards, robust project selection, and credible reporting.

In his remarks, Cissé reaffirmed that the REEF is deeply aligned with ACF’s mission to catalyse systemic transformations that bridge philanthropy, policy, and private finance. He noted that the Fund’s leverage potential makes it one of the most impactful investments ACF can support.

The Fund’s social and developmental impact will be equally profound — creating thousands of quality green jobs, improving rural energy access, and fostering a new generation of Senegalese clean energy entrepreneurs.

As Senegal positions itself as a continental leader in just energy transition, the launch of REEF signals a bold shift from commitment to implementation. It reflects an African-led model of climate finance innovation — one that demonstrates how local institutions, when equipped with the right tools and partnerships, can design mechanisms that are both financially viable and socially equitable.