Tax Advice and Financial Regulatory Compliance for Renewable Energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa

Empower New Energy AS (Empower) has received financing from the African Development Bank toward the cost of essential pre-investment activities for its initial portfolio of small and medium scale renewable energy projects in Africa, and intends to apply part of the agreed amount for this grant to payments under the contract for “Tax Advice and Financial Regulatory Compliance for Renewable Energy projects in Sub-Saharan Africa”.

Empower is the fund manager of the impact investment fund Empower Invest AS (Empower Invest), which actively selects solar PV, small run-of-river hydro, battery storage and small wind projects across Africa and other emerging markets for investment, with a focus on small to medium- sized projects, usually between 1MW and 10MW.

Through these investments, Empower delivers high financial, environmental and social returns to investors and stakeholders based on a diversified portfolio of projects across many jurisdictions. Empower’s vision is a world powered by affordable renewable energy, and its mission is to bridge the financing gap that currently impedes the fulfilment of numerous renewable energy projects in Africa and other emerging markets.

As an impact investor, Empower is committed to ensuring full payment of all applicable tax both locally and internationally, and ensuring that all financial regulatory requirements are met and upheld. The nature of Empower’s investment model, however, often means that there may be multiple ways to structure a project and meet these criteria. The purpose of this contract is to provide detailed advice to Empower on how specific renewable energy projects can be structured to meet all applicable tax and financial regulatory obligations, with recommendations on the best approach in terms of efficiency, regulatory requirements, ease of establishment, cost, and transparency (along with any other specific criteria that may be deemed relevant for any particular project). Empower has already initiated projects in Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt, so advice for these jurisdictions is not likely to be required as they are known markets. New projects may be located in any of the other countries across the African continent (with the exception of South Africa), but experience of local and international tax and financial regulations in respect of Burundi, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zimbabwe is highly desirable as these are the most likely next markets for investment.

In terms of physical presence across Africa, you will not be required (nor expected) to have offices in each of the required jurisdictions, but local expertise is essential and must be demonstrated. Bidders are encouraged to join other parties in consortia where this will lead to broader coverage of