Africa’s push to position itself in the emerging global green hydrogen economy gathers pace as the African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a new funding call aimed squarely at private sector developers across the continent.
The bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) said it is inviting proposals for green hydrogen and derivative projects under a newly established programme designed to accelerate early-stage ventures toward bankability.
The initiative, backed by the German government and approved in late 2025, will provide up to $20 million in pre-investment financing for three to five shortlisted projects, subject to due diligence, marking one of the most targeted efforts yet to unlock Africa’s participation in the fast-growing hydrogen market.
The call opened on April 10, 2026, with submissions due by May 11. Proposals must be submitted through sefaafrica.org by 11 May 2026, 17:00 Abidjan time.
The move places African entrepreneurs and project developers at the centre of a sector expected to attract hundreds of billions of dollars globally over the next three decades, as industries seek low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels.
“Green hydrogen represents a real opportunity for Africa, both to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries and to build new value chains, while contributing to socio-economic development,” said Daniel Schroth, Director of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency at the AfDB.
“The SEFA Green Hydrogen Programme is designed to contribute to the transition of projects from development to bankability, considering the rigour that is required in supporting an emerging sector,” he added.
African innovation enters a capital-intensive frontier
The programme targets early-stage project development, a critical bottleneck in Africa’s clean energy ecosystem.
While the continent has vast renewable energy potential, particularly in solar and wind, many projects fail to reach financial close due to high upfront development costs, weak feasibility pipelines and limited technical capacity.
SEFA’s financing will be deployed primarily as reimbursable grants to fund advisory services, including feasibility studies, front-end engineering design, procurement preparation and transaction advisory, all essential to moving projects toward final investment decision (FID).
For African entrepreneurs, the implications are significant.
Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, is increasingly seen as a cornerstone of global decarbonisation strategies, particularly in sectors such as steel, fertiliser, shipping and heavy transport.
Africa’s competitive advantage lies in its low-cost renewable resources, abundant land and proximity to European and Asian demand centres. Several countries, including Namibia, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa, have already announced multi-billion-dollar hydrogen ambitions.
However, the sector remains nascent, capital-intensive and technically complex, making early-stage support decisive.
Catalysing private sector participation
SEFA, a multi-donor fund housed within the AfDB, has been instrumental in de-risking renewable energy investments across Africa by blending concessional finance with technical assistance.
Its mandate is to unlock private capital by improving project risk-return profiles, a model increasingly critical as development finance institutions shift from direct funding to catalytic roles.
The fund’s broader objective aligns with the AfDB’s “Mission 300” agenda to expand access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy across the continent.
By focusing on green hydrogen, SEFA is effectively signalling a strategic pivot from energy access alone to industrial transformation.
Analysts say the programme could help African firms move beyond raw resource exports into higher-value green industrial ecosystems including ammonia production, green fuels and export-oriented energy corridors.
A narrow window, high stakes
Despite the opportunity, competition for funding is expected to be intense, with only a handful of projects likely to secure support.
Applicants must demonstrate technical viability, commercial potential and alignment with long-term decarbonisation pathways, a high bar in a sector still defining its economics.
Yet for those who succeed, the programme could provide a critical bridge between concept and capital.
For Africa’s emerging class of climate entrepreneurs, the continent is no longer a passive player in the energy transition.
It is positioning itself as a production hub and increasingly, as an innovation engine.
