National child project under the GEF Africa Mini-grids Program Djibouti Supporting access to clean energy by increasing the financial viability, and promoting scaled-up commercial investment, in low carbon mini grids in Djibouti, with a focus on cost reduction levers and innovative business models Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency. FORMTEXT The objective of the AMP in Djibouti is ‘Supporting access to clean energy by increasing the financial viability, and promoting scaled-up commercial investment, in low-carbon mini grids in Djibouti, with a focus on cost reduction levers and innovative business models.’ More specifically, the project aims to increase the market competitiveness of solar PV-battery mini-grid systems, hence, support the expansion in energy access through the use of renewable resources. To address baseline challenges and achieve the overall objective, the project design involves a collaborative strategy revolving around three central ideas: (1) Creating an institutional set-up to enable private sector engagement in the mini-grid sector, including the establishment of a national focal point to oversee all matters related to mini-grid development and coordinating the effort of the different parties to ensure efficient intragovernmental collaboration and facilitated financial support to the mini-grid sector; (2) Developing quality standards to enable market auditing and ensure the developed systems are resilient and sustainable; and (3) Strengthening private sector actors through supporting their ability to self-organize, and their technical capacity to design and operate solar mini-grids, prepare tenders for project development, and seek finance for their projects.   FFFFFFFF0000000000000A0070006A00420065006E00650066006900740073000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 The project has numerous socioeconomic benefits, at the national, local and individual household levels, as listed specifically below.At the national level the project: - Helps increase access to off-grid electricity, thus relieving the burden on the national grid, while allowing the government to meet the increasing demand sooner without large investments in infrastructure. - Reducing the amount of fuel needed for power generation from diesel-powered mini-grids. - Increased vocational training for renewable energy practitioners from the public sector as well as staff members and potential candidates for the EPCs and ESCOs who will engage in the work. - Reduction of CO2 emissions as a direct result of reduced reliance on fossil fuel for energy. At the local level: - Reduced fuel combustion in diesel generators will result in reduced air pollution and reduced particulate matter, resulting in better health for the local population. - Reduced need for fuel transport to support mini-grids also means reduced congestion, fire and explosion hazards, and further reduced pollutants. At the individual house-hold level: - Improved stable access to clean energy is the starting point for households to become more comfortable and enables better adoption of modern technology for different purposes. This is becoming more crucial in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity for family members to work from home or attend online classes.