Questions & Answers

The AGHP targets pre-investment activities that contribute towards the Final Investment Decision/Financial Close stages. It is not expected that a SPV involved in developing a proposed project would have reached Financial Close.

An applicant should be a registered private sector entity, even if an application would be on behalf of a SPV.

Where a proposed project is developed by a consortium that is not a registered entity, a 'Lead Firm' in the consortium is eligible to apply. The Lead Firm, which should be a registered entity, is expected to be defined as such in agreements that establish the consortium.

Applicants can be registered private sector entities from AfDB Member and SEFA Donor Countries. Projects for the production of green hydrogen/derivatives must be located in Africa. The full listing of AfDB Member countries is available at afdb.org/members.

As stated on the application form: "Site/land access secured in any form, including purchase, lease, concession or equivalent arrangement, even if subject to further regulatory approval or permitting."

Green methanol, derived from electrolysis-based green hydrogen, qualifies.

ESIA is not listed under AGHP eligible activities.

As indicated on the application form, the AGHP is designed to support projects that have completed pre-feasibility studies, for the pre-investment activities leading up to Final Investment Decision/Financial Close.

See response to question 4. Applicants can be registered private sector entities from AfDB Member and SEFA Donor Countries — registration in the host country is not required.

AGHP funding can only be used to cover costs of external service providers related to eligible activities.

Only projects that plan to use renewable energy to produce hydrogen through electrolysis will be considered under the AGHP.

In principle these are considered eligible but will depend on the outcomes of a project's pre-feasibility study, which is a mandatory requirement under the AGHP. See also the response to question 11 regarding the source of the hydrogen.

See response to question 7. ESIA is not listed under AGHP eligible activities.

Each project is assessed independently according to its merits, provided it has a clearly defined distinct scope and structuring elements (e.g. capital structure, expected future cash-flows, technology configuration, offtake arrangements). Subject to those structuring elements, the same applicant can submit more than one project proposal under the AGHP.

The maximum grant amount per project will be based on the outcomes of the evaluation process — US$20 million is available across 3 to 5 top-ranked projects. There is no fixed per-project cap.

Evidence of co-financing mentioned in the application will be expected during the due diligence process once the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects have been selected.

The origin of CO₂ used in the production of green methanol will be assessed as part of the evaluation process.

An indication of commitment from prospective off-take partners will be assessed as part of the evaluation process. This can be in the form of a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding, Letter of Intent, or any other relevant documentation.

Co-financing is one of the core principles of the AGHP, as the expectation is that SEFA funding will complement other financing resources (own funds or from other facilities) during the development stage.

This will be an outcome of the evaluation process.

The profile of applicants or sponsors will be assessed as part of the evaluation process, considering track-record and commitment of own financial resources in the proposed project.

Funding under the AGHP will be based on a bilateral reimbursable grant agreement with the AfDB. It will be necessary to clearly delineate the eligible activities expected to be funded through the AGHP.

Service providers are expected to be from AfDB Member and SEFA Donor Countries.

Co-funding resources can be from AfDB Member and SEFA Donor Countries.

Off-takers can be from AfDB Member and SEFA Donor Countries. Offtake arrangements will be assessed as part of the evaluation process.

Evidence (e.g. management accounts) of the development equity indicated during the application will be expected during the due diligence process once the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects have been selected, and in terms of the AGHP reimbursable grant agreement.

Additionality is assessed in terms of how prospective AGHP funding contributes to a project's prospects to progress to FID/FC, considering specifically the mobilisation of commercial capital (equity and debt) that would not be feasible without the SEFA funding. 'Rationale' is a broader consideration to assess the reason(s) for seeking AGHP funding in the context of the programme's objectives.

The application form and guide provide examples of the documentation required to assess government endorsement. A summary can be included as part of the documentation.

The extent of project partner contributions will be assessed as part of the evaluation process. There is no minimum threshold for such contributions.

Total development cost refers to the costs incurred and expected to be incurred during the pre-Financial Close phase of a project.

Committed funding refers to funding already deployed and funding confirmed/approved to be further deployed on a project.

The extent of a project's GHG emissions reductions will be assessed as part of the evaluation process. There is no minimum threshold.

GHG reductions considered under the AGHP are due to the displacement of fossil fuels in power generation and production processes — not sequestration.

This is for support to small-medium enterprises (SMEs) in African countries where projects are located, as part of contributing to socio-economic development.

As stated in the Application Guide: a project can be considered as 'supply-side' (i.e. supply of GH/derivatives) or 'offtake side' (purchase of GH/derivatives for industrial production, agriculture and transportation).

This will depend on project-specific implementation milestones and financing plans. Total construction funding will be required to commence construction; total development funding is required to get a project to Financial Close.

The GHG impact on a power system is based on the annual RE generation output associated with a green hydrogen project that can be injected into local/regional grids.

GHG reduction applies in cases where a project is expected to displace existing fossil-fuelled generation/industrial production processes. GHG avoidance applies where a project is expected to avoid future/planned fossil-fuelled generation/industrial production processes.

This is related to the point where a project's outputs will be used — i.e. displacement of fossil fuels in industrial processes or the transportation of goods/passengers.

The CfP focuses on hydrogen produced from renewable energy and electrolysis.

This will be assessed on a project-by-project basis as part of the evaluation process. As stated in the Application Guide: a project can be considered as 'supply-side' (i.e. supply of GH/derivatives) or 'offtake side' (purchase of GH/derivatives for industrial production, agriculture and transportation).

The scale of the selected 3 to 5 projects will depend on the evaluation process. There are no specified thresholds.

See response to question 4. Applicants can be registered private sector entities from AfDB Member and SEFA Donor Countries.

The programme is administered by the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), an African Development Bank (AfDB) Special Fund. Funding — in the form of a Reimbursable Grant — will be channelled through the AfDB.

A Reimbursable Grant is essentially an interest-free loan, meaning only the principal amount will be repayable. In the case of the AGHP, repayment of an approved amount will be triggered when a project reaches Financial Close.

Approved funding, subject to due diligence processes, will be disbursed in tranches according to deliverables agreed with the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects.

Once a project reaches Financial Close, the full grant amount will be due for repayment.

This is expected to be July/August 2026 at the latest.

The 3 to 5 top-ranked projects will undergo a due diligence process before funding is approved.

There is no provision for repayment of approved grant funding before Financial Close. However, careful monitoring will be continuously undertaken to assess prospects for an approved project to reach Financial Close. Specific details will be part of the due diligence process that the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects will undergo before funding is approved.

Conditions Precedent will be an outcome of due diligence and approval processes related to the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects.

While the seed capital for the AGHP has been provided by Germany as a SEFA donor, the programme is implemented under SEFA, which is a Multi-Donor Special Fund administered by the African Development Bank and subject to Bank rules and procedures.

Based on the outcomes of due diligence processes related to the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects, approval of funding is expected by Q4 2026. Execution of agreements is expected by Q2 2027, and disbursements will depend on the resolution of Conditions Precedent and the timing of agreed deliverables.

This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis during the evaluation process.

Financial Close refers to the milestone reached when the first draw-down from a project finance facility is possible. This will vary from project to project.

Expected terms will be an outcome of the due diligence process involving the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects. Following internal assessment and approval processes, a Reimbursable Grant is converted into a grant in cases where a project does not proceed to Financial Close. For this reason, it is crucial to have visibility of the path to FID/FC. See also responses to Q7, Q15, and Q23.

Implementation timelines will be considered as an outcome of the due diligence process involving the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects.

The key post-selection steps will include due diligence, approvals, RG agreement negotiation and execution, followed by implementation and reporting/monitoring.

The evaluation will be based on proposals submitted through the online AGHP portal. Further detailed engagements will form part of the due diligence process involving the 3 to 5 top-ranked projects.