Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe

Background: Since the introduction of legislation in Zimbabwe allowing private participation in generation, there has been significant investor interest in financing independent power producers (IPPs). However, this interest has not materialized into actual investment. Of the 29 IPPs licensed by the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zunguze, Timisela
Other Authors: Eberhard, Anton
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Research of GSB 2017
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613259070177280
access_status_str Open Access
author Zunguze, Timisela
author2 Eberhard, Anton
author_browse Eberhard, Anton
Zunguze, Timisela
author_facet Eberhard, Anton
Zunguze, Timisela
author_sort Zunguze, Timisela
collection Thesis
description Background: Since the introduction of legislation in Zimbabwe allowing private participation in generation, there has been significant investor interest in financing independent power producers (IPPs). However, this interest has not materialized into actual investment. Of the 29 IPPs licensed by the Zimbabwe Regulatory Authority (ZERA), only seven have reached financial closure and are supplying the grid. This dismal performance in the IPP space is a major concern for policy makers, particularly in light of the persistent power shortages plaguing the country. Stop gap measures such as the imports of power and load shedding are not sustainable and have detrimental effects on economic productivity. Expansion of private power generation is the only viable long term solution. In light of this, it is imperative to understand the factors that contribute towards successfully financing IPPs. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for financing IPPs in Zimbabwe and specific strategies to improve the implementation of IPPs, to ensure as far as possible, a win-win scenario for all stakeholders. Methodology: This thesis employs a mixed methods approach consisting of a qualitative first phase of expert interviews to identify a core list of success factors, followed by a quantitative second phase, in which a questionnaire survey is used to examine the relative importance and ranking of the factors and to determine whether the ranking of factors varies by stakeholder grouping. Findings: A total of 40 success factors were identified, and 38 of the 40 were rated as critical for financing IPPs in Zimbabwe by stakeholders. The study also revealed that the expected debt paying ability of the project; a transparent and cost reflective tariff framework and upholding of contracts are the most critical factors for all stakeholders. The results indicated that there is low agreement in the the ranking of CSFs between the private sector and public sector. Value: This study provides a valuable reference for all stakeholders that are interested in developing IPPs in Zimbabwe.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25643
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:33:17.409Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2017
publishDateRange 2017
publishDateSort 2017
publisher Research of GSB
publisherStr Research of GSB
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/25643 Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe Zunguze, Timisela Eberhard, Anton Kruger, Wikus Development Finance Background: Since the introduction of legislation in Zimbabwe allowing private participation in generation, there has been significant investor interest in financing independent power producers (IPPs). However, this interest has not materialized into actual investment. Of the 29 IPPs licensed by the Zimbabwe Regulatory Authority (ZERA), only seven have reached financial closure and are supplying the grid. This dismal performance in the IPP space is a major concern for policy makers, particularly in light of the persistent power shortages plaguing the country. Stop gap measures such as the imports of power and load shedding are not sustainable and have detrimental effects on economic productivity. Expansion of private power generation is the only viable long term solution. In light of this, it is imperative to understand the factors that contribute towards successfully financing IPPs. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore and identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for financing IPPs in Zimbabwe and specific strategies to improve the implementation of IPPs, to ensure as far as possible, a win-win scenario for all stakeholders. Methodology: This thesis employs a mixed methods approach consisting of a qualitative first phase of expert interviews to identify a core list of success factors, followed by a quantitative second phase, in which a questionnaire survey is used to examine the relative importance and ranking of the factors and to determine whether the ranking of factors varies by stakeholder grouping. Findings: A total of 40 success factors were identified, and 38 of the 40 were rated as critical for financing IPPs in Zimbabwe by stakeholders. The study also revealed that the expected debt paying ability of the project; a transparent and cost reflective tariff framework and upholding of contracts are the most critical factors for all stakeholders. The results indicated that there is low agreement in the the ranking of CSFs between the private sector and public sector. Value: This study provides a valuable reference for all stakeholders that are interested in developing IPPs in Zimbabwe. 2017-10-12T13:59:31Z 2017-10-12T13:59:31Z 2017 Master Thesis Masters MCom http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25643 eng application/pdf Research of GSB Faculty of Commerce University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Development Finance
Zunguze, Timisela
Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe
title_full Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe
title_fullStr Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe
title_short Defying the odds: Understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in Zimbabwe
title_sort defying the odds understanding the critical success factors for financing independent powers producers in zimbabwe
topic Development Finance
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/25643
work_keys_str_mv AT zunguzetimisela defyingtheoddsunderstandingthecriticalsuccessfactorsforfinancingindependentpowersproducersinzimbabwe