Mozambique's Energy Fund (FUNAE) plans to begin construction of 100 solar mini-grids in Zambezia, Tete and Niassa provinces in 2027, in a project valued at an estimated $50 million aimed at extending electricity access to communities not yet connected to the national grid.

The project is the product of a partnership between FUNAE and the Belgian Development Cooperation Agency (Enabel), which jointly mobilised financing from the Green Climate Fund. The resources will be channelled to the private sector, which will be responsible for building and operating the infrastructure.

Mussa Mane, director of FUNAE's Private Sector Services Division, said the initiative marks a new phase in the country's rural electrification strategy — one that shifts focus to localities still entirely without electricity access, following an earlier phase centred on administrative posts.

"Solar mini-grids are decentralised infrastructures made up of solar panels for energy generation, batteries for storage, and a distribution network that carries electricity to households," Mane explained.

Mane was speaking in Maputo on the sidelines of a Governance and Institutional Alignment Retreat on Mini-Grids and Decentralised Energy, which brought together representatives from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, FUNAE, the Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE), and Enabel.

At the event, FUNAE Board Chair Mety Gondola called for procurement processes to be accelerated to avoid delays in project execution. "We cannot spend a year, two years, managing the contracting process. The population is waiting and the Government is in a hurry to deliver this service," Gondola said.

The retreat aims to strengthen coordination among the institutions involved, clarify institutional responsibilities, and streamline the procedures required for construction to begin in 2027.

The mini-grid programme forms part of the Mozambican government's broader strategy to achieve universal electricity access by 2030, combining expansion of the national grid with decentralised solutions targeting rural communities.