Thirty participants from the Ministries of Energy, Water and Mines, Health, Economy and Finance, technical and financial partners and the private sector met in Cotonou on Wednesday February 26, 2025, at the initiative of ECOWAS, as part of the implementation of the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP).

The aim of the workshop was to present the results of feasibility studies for the electrification of 15 rural health centers in Benin using solar photovoltaic technology. Among other things, the first three study reports on the following topics were presented:

• Inventory the electrical equipment in the 15 selected health centers, establish their electricity needs, then size the solar photovoltaic generators to be installed;
• Design a business model for the electrification of public institutions in general by identifying: (i) the challenges related to the payment system for electrical service by the public sector and (ii) the “appetite” of the private sector to work with a model based on per-formance services;
• And development of an implementation strategy for the defined model to ensure its sustainability.

ROGEAP is a project financed by the World Bank and its partners to the tune of nearly $340 million. It is being implemented by the ECOWAS Commission for component 1 (Developing a regional market for off-grid solar photovoltaic systems) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) for component 2 (Access to Financing).

ROGEAP aims to improve the living conditions of people in 19 countries, including the 12 ECOWAS countries, by providing sustainable energy solutions through off-grid solar photovoltaic systems.