{"id":77425,"date":"2026-04-21T19:59:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T19:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility"},"modified":"2026-04-21T20:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T20:08:20","slug":"comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility","title":{"rendered":"COMESA Launches USD 25 Million Ascent Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in partnership with the World Bank, has launched the ASCENT Project Preparation Facility (PPF), a USD 25 million initiative designed to fast-track renewable electrification across Eastern and Southern Africa.<\/p>\n<p>The facility was officially unveiled on the sidelines of the EAIF 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, marking a strategic push to position COMESA at the centre of Africa\u2019s clean energy transition.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the launch, COMESA Assistant Secretary General in charge of Programmes, Dr Mohamed Kadah, said the facility is aimed at strengthening the early stages of energy project development to ensure they are investment-ready.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ASCENT Project Preparation Facility is designed to strengthen the technical and financial structuring of projects and prepare them to meet investor and lender requirements, ultimately unlocking capital at scale,\u201d Dr Kadah said.<\/p>\n<p>He added that the initiative is a major step toward ensuring that renewable energy projects in the region are not only innovative but also commercially viable and bankable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy supporting developers with technical expertise and aligning projects with international financing standards, ASCENT will help drive investment into clean energy solutions that deliver lasting social and economic benefits,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Kadah further noted that the facility will strengthen the pipeline of viable energy projects, attract private sector investment, and contribute to inclusive growth and climate resilience across member states.<\/p>\n<p>To support implementation, Cygnum Capital has been appointed as Fund Manager. The firm will oversee project preparation, provide technical and financial advisory services, and ensure all supported initiatives meet international investment standards.<\/p>\n<p>The ASCENT PPF is expected to serve as a catalyst for clean energy development by bridging the gap between project ideas and actual financing. It will support developers with technical expertise, improve project structuring, and enhance the bankability of renewable energy initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Key focus areas include expanding access to clean electricity, promoting productive use of power in agriculture, industry, and commerce, and accelerating the region\u2019s transition toward green energy systems.<\/p>\n<p>The launch has taken place during EAIF 2026, which has gathered governments, financiers, innovators, and private sector stakeholders to explore partnerships in renewable electrification, industrial energy solutions, and broader green transition efforts.<\/p>\n<p>The Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) Programme remains COMESA\u2019s flagship initiative, aimed at expanding access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy while mobilizing investment and driving innovation across the region.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Malawi<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Malawi. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in partnership with the World Bank, has launched the ASCENT Project Preparation Facility (PPF), a USD 25 million initiative designed to fast-track renewable electrification across Eastern and Southern Africa. The facility was officially unveiled on the sidelines of the EAIF 2026 in Nairobi, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":77424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-77425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-malawi"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>COMESA Launches USD 25 Million Ascent Facility - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in partnership with the World Bank, has launched the ASCENT ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMESA Launches USD 25 Million Ascent Facility\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), in partnership with the World Bank, has launched the ASCENT ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-21T19:59:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-21T20:08:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/04\/sm_1776801693.506559.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"398\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"COMESA Launches USD 25 Million Ascent Facility\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-21T19:59:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-21T20:08:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility\"},\"wordCount\":409,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2026\/04\/sm_1776801693.506559.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Malawi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/comesa-launches-usd-25-million-ascent-facility\",\"name\":\"COMESA Launches USD 25 Million Ascent Facility - 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