Energy 4 Impact is working with Senegalese start-up, Bio Energie Green, with the aim of installing 500 biogas digesters in the country, and creating a factory to produce 22,000 tonnes of organic fertiliser per year from slurry from the digesters. Energy 4 Impact will be supporting the company with technical advice, including a feasibility study for the factory, and capacity support with capital raising.

Energy 4 Impact is providing this assistance under the National Biogas Programme, through which it has already supported the construction of more than 700 digesters by 32 different enterprises. A key focus of Energy 4 Impact’s approach is on turning the slurry from the digesters into organic fertiliser. The fertiliser can either be used to grow crops for market, or sold to local farmers. The extra income earned makes the digesters affordable. A study conducted by the National Biogas Programme indicates that there is a market for organic fertiliser nationally of the order of 2.8m tonnes per year.

A financing mechanism has been put in place to provide working capital for enterprises constructing the digesters, and advice is provided on business and financial management. As well as earning additional income, households with digesters benefit from cooking with biogas. This saves time which would have been spent collecting firewood, and has health benefits. An estimated 6,390 people have benefitted from the systems so far installed.

The partnership with Bio Energie Green offers an opportunity to further extend the programme’s impact. The company was set up in October 2016 to capitalise on business opportunities in the renewable energy sector, with interests in solar PV as well as biogas. Energy 4 Impact signed an accord with the company in February 2018. Bio Energie Green has ambitions to be the leader in the development, production and marketing of equipment for converting biomass and organic waste into energy and profitable fertiliser.