The Rockefeller Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have signed an agreement to promote clean energy in emerging markets.

The Rockefeller Foundation plans to contribute about $150 million to de-risk about $2bn of investment mobilised from the private sector via the IFC.

This fund also includes an initial rapid deployment phase of $30m.

Both organisations have signed a ten-year partnership set to be implemented across seven sub-Saharan countries: Senegal, Rwanda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda.

These countries possess the conducive enabling environment vital for developing access to energy, according to both organisations.

“The countries that have expressed interest have put in place policies that may not be perfect, but that are moving in the right direction,” Joseph Nganga, executive director of energy and climate for Africa at the Rockefeller Foundation, noted.

This partnership with the IFC forms part of a larger project to establish a $1bn platform alongside the IKEA Foundation to fund climate action and increase energy access.

The initiative, which is set to be launched at COP26 (in November in Glasgow), aims to prevent 1bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions and provide clean energy access to 1 billion people globally.