Benin Solar 50MW (IFC-43792)

Regions
  • Africa
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Benin
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Natitingou, Djougou, Parakou, Bohicon
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Oct 10, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
ParaBo SAS, NatiDjo SAS
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 19.52 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 16.8
Converted using 2025-10-10 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 19.52 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 16.8
Converted using 2025-10-10 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 48.22 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 41.5
Converted using 2025-10-10 exchange rate.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Oct 20, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Aug 14, 2025


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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the IFC, the proposed investment seeks to support the construction and operation of a portfolio of 50 MWac solar photovoltaic (PV) projects located in four different sites in the Republic of Benin and bundled into two lots (A and B). The Project will be developed by a consortium between Axian Energy and Egnon Consulting (hereafter referred to together as “the Sponsors”) through two special purpose vehicles (SPV), ParaBo SAS and NatiDjo SAS (one SPV per lot). With headquarters in Madagascar, Axian Energy is an experienced player in the energy industry and has operations across East, West and Central Africa.

IFC obtained PDS-Concept approval and Blended Finance Committee endorsement to provide financing for Lot A and Lot B comprising of a total of: i) A loans for up to c. EUR 11m; ii) Blended Finance (“BF”) loans for up to EUR 9m; iii) interest rate swaps covering the A loan and potentially the loan from Proparco, IFC’s co-lender. It is expected that each institution will provide 50% of the debt, IFC’s 50% share being equally split between the IFC’s A loan and BF tranches.

The project will reduce Benin’s dependence on electricity imports and will be the first solar independent power producer (IPP) in Benin.
The proposed project sites are greenfield sites located across Benin, positioned in strategic locations to reinforce the electricity network of the Société Béninoise d'Énergie Électrique (SBEE), the national electricity distribution utility: Natitingou (20 ha site; 10 MWac; 550 km north-west of Porto Novo), Djougou (20 ha site; 10 MWac; 450 km north-west of Porto Novo), Parakou (51.5 ha site; 15 MWac; 340 km north of Porto Novo), and Bohicon (50 ha site; 15 MWac; 100 km north-west of Porto Novo). The project sites are located in peri-urban/rural areas, near main roads, with the nearest villages adjacent to the site (for Bohicon and Natitingou sites) or about 1 km away (for Djougou and Parakou sites). The four plots were acquired by the Government of Benin with the support of the Millenium Challenge Account (MCA)-Benin II program and will be made available to the sponsors in charge of the development, construction, and operation of the power plants for a total period of 20 years, comprising 1 year of construction and 19 years of production.

Construction is to be carried out by an Engineering, Procurement, Construction (“EPC”) contractor and the Operation and Maintenance (“O&M”) phase is to be carried out by the same contractor for the first year (with a possible extension for an additional year depending on performance), and Axian’s O&M company for the remaining years. A Concession Agreement exists between the sponsors and the State of Benin which outlines, amongst other, E&S responsibilities between the two parties and commitments to local content and community investment. The plants will consist of, at each site, up to 30,000 modules of 620Wp per unit with solar trackers, inverters of 330kVA per unit, transformer substations of 5 MVA the unit, and containerized delivery substations. The plants will also include ancillary structures such as a security guard post, sanitary block, weather stations, and internal and site access roads (of up to 400 m from the nearby main roads); the plant sites will be completely fenced.

Associated facilities include an approximately 6.5 km overhead transmission line at Natitingou, a 2.5 km underground transmission line at Parakou, a 200 m underground transmission line at Bohicon, a 1.8 km underground transmission line at Djougou, and a sub-station at the Bohicon site. These facilities were constructed by the SBEE with the support of the MCA in 2023 and 2024.

Early works are expected to start in August 2025, while construction is expected to commence in late 2025 for a duration of approximately 12 months.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

As stated by the IFC, the total project cost is estimated at up to EUR 22.7 million for the ParaBo SPV (covering the Parakou and Bohicon plants) and up to EUR 18.8 million for the NatiDjo SPV (covering the Natitingou and Djougou plants). The proposed IFC investment is up to EUR 16.8 million, comprising of: i) up to EUR 9.2 million to ParaBo SAS; and ii) up to EUR 7.6 million to NatiDjo SAS.

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the IFC, ParaBo SAS will implement the Parakou and Bohicon power plants, and NatiDjo SAS will implement the Natitingou and Djougou power plants. Both project companies are special purpose vehicle (SPV) incorporated in Benin and are each owned 80% by Axian Energy Green and 20% by Sika Capital.

Axian Energy Green is wholly owned by Axian Energy. With USD 455 million of revenues in 2023 and direct operations in 5 countries in Africa, Axian Energy is currently operating power plants for a total of approximatively 298MW with an additional 60MW capacity currently in the construction phase. Axian Energy has a target of 1GW of renewable capacity installed in Africa by 2030.

Sika Capital is a Benin-based investment vehicle founded in 2021, which operates across the entire renewable energy infrastructure lifecycle. It is owned 60% by Egnon Consulting, a Beninese advisory firm, which supported over 200 MW of renewable energy projects in West Africa. The remaining 40% is owed by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations du Benin, a government-owned financial institution investing in innovative projects in Benin.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
Axian Group Parent Company Infrastructure owns Axian Energy Client Energy
Egnon Consulting Investor Finance contracts with Axian Energy Client Energy

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - Axian Energy:

Mairamou Haman Adji - Impact & Sustainability Director
Phone: +221 76 406 39 83
Email: mairamou.hamanadji@axian-group.com
Website: https://www.axian-energy.com/ 

General IFC Inquiries - IFC Communications:

Address: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20433
Telephone: +1 202-473-3800
Fax: +1 202-974-4384

Local Access for Project Documentation:

Axian Energy
Address: Building Kube A Zone Galaxy, Andraharo 101 Antananarivo, Madagascar
Telephone: +261 20 22 368 68
Webpage : www.axian-group.com

Egnon Consulting
Address: 1372 Ilot 646-A Quartier Gbégamey, Cotonou, Bénin
Telephone: +229 01 69 42 54 54
Webpage: https://www.egnonconsulting.com/

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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