The Agence Togolaise d'Électrification Rurale et des Énergies Renouvelables (AT2ER) has tendered solar mini-grids for 27 rural localities under reference AOI N° 002/AT2ER-PERMS56/PRMP/2026. The two lots together cover 2.3 MWc of solar, more than 4 MWh of battery storage and roughly 100 km of distribution network. Works run twelve months and fall mainly in the Plateaux region.

Who funds what

Three institutions appear in coverage of this programme, and they fund different things. Construction is financed by the Islamic Development Bank, under a loan agreed on 28 March 2022 for the Rural Electrification of 317 Localities by Solar Mini-Grids project. The Islamic Development Bank approved US$ 20.15 million for the Rural Electrification Project through Mini Solar Power Plants in Togo. In addition, the Lives and Livelihoods Fund provided US$ 10.85 million to improve the level of human development in Togo by providing sustainable supply of electricity to the rural population of Togo who live in dense and sparsely populated areas far from the existing grid.

AT2ER's notice states it will use part of that facility to pay for these works. The African Development Bank and its SEFA facility funded only the preparatory phase, a €2.73m concessional loan and a $1m grant approved in December 2022, which paid to create the mini-grid project companies and build AT2ER's capacity. A separate tender opened in September for a grid-connected plant at Agoé Nyivé, north of Lomé, is financed by the Agence Française de Développement and sits outside this rural programme.

The two lots

A bidder may submit for both lots, but only one can be awarded so thatany single company, so the work will go to two firms. Lot A covers 11 localities with 1,295 kWc of solar, 2,520 kWh of storage, 39.28 km of network and 241 public lighting points. Lot B covers 16 localities with 1,030 kWc, 1,850 kWh, 54.15 km and 334 lighting points. Each carries a backup generator, 415 kVA and 330 kVA respectively.

Who can actually bid

Two requirements set the field. Bids had to include a bank guarantee of 50 million CFA francs per lot, issued by a Togolese bank or by a foreign bank with a correspondent bank in Togo. The tender file cost 100,000 CFA francs in cash, or 153 euros by transfer for candidates without representation in Togo. Private investors are expected to supply around 30% of the wider programme.

What it means

A contractor already banked inside the CFA zone can produce that guarantee in days. One without those relationships cannot, whatever its technical case. With 190 of the 317 localities still to be confirmed for later investment phases and universal access targeted for 2030, the banking relationship is the asset to build now.

Sources: PV Solaire Energie, PV-Magazine, PV-Magazine