Applications open for Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities (PREO) Programme 2025

This open call will accept applications from enterprises seeking to pilot innovative. PURE business models in sub-Saharan Africa in sectors including (but not limited to) solar water pumping for irrigation, cold storage for food, agro processing of crops (e.g. milling, drying, oil press), food value chain processing activities, electric mobility for taxi drivers and fishing boats, and more. These can be start-ups at advanced concept stage or operational small and medium-sized enterprises.

PREO promotes the productive use of renewable energy (PURE) in sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific Island Countries to stimulate local economic development and support global progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG7, SDG8 & SDG13). By bolstering investment and engagement in the PURE sector, PREO strives to realise the potential of PURE as a key driver in a just and inclusive global clean energy transition. The PREO programme supports collaborative partnerships that are designed to meet the specific needs of local communities.

Objectives

• To receive PREO funding, companies must propose projects that contribute to PREO’s core objectives:  
  • Demonstrating positive social and economic impacts across the value chain, driven by increased productivity, throughput and added value through PURE activities;  
  • Improving livelihoods by supporting partners to grow their workforce and expand their customer/end-user reach;  
  • Stimulating the entry of financial institutions and capital providers into the PURE market through improved business economics, scalability and financial sustainability; 
  • Creating an evidence base and disseminating knowledge with PURE stakeholders, including public and private sector investors, innovators, donors, policy makers and enterprises; and  
  • Empowering women to engage in PURE activities, whether as active participants or as end-users.

Funding Information

• The PREO programme has allocated almost €7.5M catalytic grants in the period 2022-2027, with around €3.45M allocated to this round. They expect grant requests to be in the range of €100,000-€200,000 but will consider applications requesting up to €300,000 in support. It is anticipated that this will be the last round of funding in this phase of PREO, until 2027.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any legally registered and physically established business or non-profit organisation based in a country in sub Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) may apply. An applicant can apply to PREO as a sole applicant or in partnership with other entities as project partners. Applications involving an organisation with majority sub Saharan African ownership and/or an organisation that is women owned and/or led, are preferred. The nature of the organisation(s) involved in the application will impact the co-financing requirement. 
• Organisations must fall into one of the following categories: 
  • Private or public companies 
  • Not-for-profit organisations 
  • Nongovernmental organisations 
  • Community based organisations 
  • State-owned entities 
• There are no restrictions on the size or maturity of the organisations applying for grant funding through PREO. 
• Projects at all implementation stages are eligible to apply, provided that the project has a PURE application, does not involve any technology risks, and targets building a business model and demonstrating its commercial viability (i.e., R&D, prototyping and testing technology viability are not eligible).

For more information, visit PREO.