Towards Green Growth: support to The Gambia and its citizens in ensuring an efficient and reliable access to energy

The EU's "Towards Green Growth" energy project in The Gambia carries a headline investment figure of €35 million, but understanding what that number represents requires careful disaggregation of the underlying financial records. IATI data from the EU Commission reveals a cluster of related instruments rather than a single disbursement. Two tranches tied directly to the Gambia Sustainable Energy Project show full disbursement: €6 million committed and fully drawn down against a 2023 end date, and €10 million committed and fully drawn down with activity running through 2027. A third tranche of €25 million has been committed but only €16 million disbursed as of available records, with a long implementation horizon extending to mid-2032. Separately, a €22 million contribution to the African Investment Facility covering both energy and transport infrastructure in The Gambia was committed in 2017 and runs to 2030, and a broader €35 million EDF envelope for the sustainable energy sector was committed in 2018 with a timeline stretching to 2034. The overlap between these instruments and the Global Gateway project as currently labelled is not entirely transparent; the €35 million Global Gateway figure most plausibly corresponds to the EDF sector support commitment rather than representing new or additional finance. Prospective users of this infrastructure should note that the "funded/committed" designation reflects legal commitment, not physical delivery. Independent coverage of this specific EU-funded programme is notably thin. No Tier 1 or Tier 2 reporting has been identified that directly assesses progress, implementation quality, or delivery against targets. This limits confidence in any assessment of on-the-ground outcomes. What independent reporting does confirm is that broader energy access efforts in The Gambia are advancing through multiple channels simultaneously: UNDP handed over a solar mini-grid facility to the Gambian government in June 2026, bringing clean energy access to communities in the Upper River Region. While this is a separate UNDP initiative rather than an EU-funded output, it illustrates that the off-grid and mini-grid space in The Gambia is receiving parallel investment from multiple development partners, which can complicate attribution of outcomes to any single programme. A World Bank review published in June 2026 also references electricity access and job creation efforts in The Gambia, confirming that the country remains a focal point for multilateral energy investment, though the specifics of World Bank activities are distinct from the EU programme under review. Overall, the financial record suggests genuine and substantial EU commitment to Gambia's energy sector over a prolonged period, with partial disbursement on the largest tranche indicating ongoing rather than completed implementation. The absence of independent reporting on project-specific outputs, including the on-grid and off-grid photovoltaic installations for schools and health facilities described in EU materials, means that delivery against stated objectives cannot be independently verified at this stage. The long implementation timelines, some extending to 2032 and 2034, indicate this project should be understood as a work in progress rather than an operational asset. Businesses or planners relying on energy infrastructure improvements attributable to this programme should seek direct confirmation from the National Water and Electricity Company of The Gambia or other implementing entities before drawing operational conclusions.