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Standard Chartered has partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide a $60 million term loan to Zambia’s Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) under President Barack Obama’s Power Africa initiative.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the British banking giant, the loan will be used to finance capital expenditure for ZESCO’s Lusaka Transmission and Distribution Rehabilitation Project (LTDRP) and also provide bridge financing to facilitate new connections to the grid.

“Part of ZESCO’s strategic plan is to improve the quality of electricity and enhance connections to the national grid,” said Victor Mundende, ZESCO’s Managing Director.

Mundende, who stated that ZESCO is committed to meeting its aspirations of electrifying 60 percent of Zambia by 2030, said the support by USAID and Standard Chartered has already contributed in adding more than 15,000 new power connections. He said some of the funds provided will be used for other system upgrades.

The ZESCO facility is one of the largest facilities that the USAID has delivered under the Power Africa initiative. Launched in 2013, Power Africa works with African governments and private sector partners to remove barriers to sustainable energy development in sub-Saharan Africa by unlocking the substantial wind, solar, hydropower, natural gas, biomass, and geothermal resources on the continent.

“Power Africa is a broad partnership which aims to boost economic development, by providing access to electricity to homes and businesses across Africa,” said Michael Yates, USAID/Zambia Mission Director. “This is one of our largest commitments in Africa to date, and will enable us to meet a critical need for a quarter of a million Zambians and the economy as a whole.”

For this ZESCO/USAID partnership, Standard Chartered acted as the global coordinator, structuring bank, book-runner, mandated lead arranger, facility agent and account bank. The London-based bank has also doubled its original commitment to the Power Africa initiative to $5 billion.

“This transaction correlates directly with ‘Energy & Climate Change’ - the central theme for African Development Bank’s AGM which was hosted in Lusaka, Zambia this last week,” said Simon Cooper, Standard Chartered’s newly appointed CEO for Corporate and Institutional Banking.

Cooper stated that Africa accounts for around a sixth of the world’s population, but only generates 4 percent of its electricity.

“Through our commitment to Power Africa partnerships - such as the one we have officiated with ZESCO - Standard Chartered will continue to support infrastructure development which provides a solid platform for long term economic growth,” Cooper added.