The Centre for Renewable Energy and Industrial Maintenance of Cabo Verde is, “surely, one of the best centers”, in West Africa dedicated to professional training, to the promotion of renewable energy, and to energy transition and efficiency, declared Salif Bagayoko, a senior official at the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), during a visit to CERMI to hear about projects that the organization is developing in the sector in question.

Before deciding to come to Cabo Verde, I had never heard about CERMI. However, after two days here, I must say that I am truly impressed with what I have seen. In my opinion, this is one of the best centers within its field in the sub-region. I have already had the privilege of visiting other similar institutions in Burkina Faso and Mali, and none of them has reached the level that CERMI has. Perhaps, this can be explained by the fact that CERMI has been set up and is implementing very important projects with the support of the European Union and Luxembourg. I am very satisfied and impressed with what I see”, declared the official.

Regarding renewable energy projects of a financial nature that WAEMU is focused on, Salif Bagayoko explained that the main objective for the region is essentially on energy efficiency in buildings, namely the installation of lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration systems based on new technologies.

“We are promoting a wide range of projects in this area, financing energy-efficient facilities,” said the WAEMU representative, which is very relevant for West African countries.

The presentation of WAEMU’s actions was carried out within the framework of the train-the-trainer program in energy efficiency for representatives of Francophone countries – as well as Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau - which has been running since Monday, September 16, at CERMI, with funding and technical assistance from the European Union and the Luxembourg Agency for Development and Cooperation (LuxDev).

WAEMU is an institution created by a regional treaty involving countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. Guinea Bissau also later joined - becoming the eighth member - the economic and monetary union of West African countries whose common currency is the CFA Franc. Benim, o Burkina Faso, a Côte d’Ivoire, o Mali, o Níger, o Senegal e TogoPar la suite, la Guinée-Bissau a rejoint - devenant le huitième membre - cette union économique et monétaire des pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest qui ont le franc CFA comme monnaie commune.