ECOWAS Power Interconnection Investment — West Africa Clean Energy Trade Infrastructure

Requirement

West Africa's power systems are among the most fragile on the continent: average enterprise outages exceed 80 hours per month in Nigeria, 45 hours in Ghana, and 90 hours in Senegal, directly reducing GDP by an estimated 2-4% annually across the region. The West African Power Pool, operational since 2000, has created the regulatory framework for cross-border electricity trade but has chronically underinvested in the interconnection infrastructure — transmission lines, substations, and grid management systems — that would allow renewable energy surpluses in Ghana (hydro), Côte d'Ivoire (hydro), and Mauritania (wind and solar) to flow efficiently to power-deficit countries. This investment opportunity targets $10M-$40M for co-investment in ECOWAS grid interconnection infrastructure: high-voltage transmission line segments, cross-border substation upgrades, and grid management digitalisation supporting specific bilateral corridors — Nigeria-Niger-Burkina Faso, Ghana-Togo-Benin, and Côte d'Ivoire-Liberia-Sierra Leone-Guinea. AfDB, EBRD, and West African Development Bank all maintain active West Africa power sector programmes with concessional co-financing available. AfroSynergy structures this through the Investment Deal template. WAPP project documentation, AfDB co-financing expressions, and country concession agreements reviewed in the deal room.