Jaza

 

Investment Name:  Jaza

Region: Sub Saharan Africa

Total ElectriFI Financing: 1.5m USD

Environmental and Social Category:  C

(A) high risk, (B+) medium high risk, (B) medium risk or (C) low risk

Project overview: Jaza Energy provides battery recharging for SHS focusing on underserved rural off-grid communities and acts as last mile distributor for electric appliances and services. Their business model is to provide Energy Hubs where Jaza battery packs are rented and recharged. Jaza owns all the hubs and hardware, which facilitates the recycling of old batteries and avoidance of toxic waste.

Funding objective and impact: The business plan provides a robust path for profitability without building up large Overhead costs. Additionality is high, as ElectriFI will catalyse additional commercial and institutional funding.

Over next 18 months, over 400 new hubs are expected to be implemented serving over  30,000 new households, creating direct employment to staff, hub attendants and sales agents. Currently 60% of Jaza employees are women.

The PV systems added with ElecriFI leveraged contribution will help save 2,400 tons of C02 per year compared a similar amount of electricity generated by utility generation fleet.

Why ElectriFI wants to fund this project: ElectriFI wants to support the Company as it provides an innovative approach to bring clean energy to underserved rural off-grid communities, empowering these markets and stimulating local economic development. Support from ElectriFI will help to scale-up operations in Tanzania and support an innovative business model that could potentially fill a gap left by SHS and minigrid business models.

Environmental and social rationale:

Jaza is a category C project with regards to E&S  given the level of risk associate with the energy service provided and implied potential impacts. The E&S impacts are limited.

IFC PSs 1 to 3 could be triggered over the investments’ life cycle and expected portfolio.