Powering energy resilience: Financing pathways for the private sector in Maldives
For a resort considering solar power or battery storage, the questions extend beyond choosing a technology. Who develops the asset, how it is financed and whether it makes commercial sense all influence whether an energy ambition becomes an operating project.
These were the issues raised by Ayotunde Osunkunle at the Hotelier Maldives General Managers (GM) Forum 2026. His presentation, “A Partner for Maldives: Financing the Energy Resilience,” invited resort operators to explore financing structures suited to their properties and energy needs.
Held on 5 October 2026 at CROSSROADS Maldives, the forum’s 10th edition examined “Resilience and Reinvention: Talent, Technology & Transformation”. Osunkunle connected that discussion to the cost and vulnerability of energy supply, setting out how IFC could support energy resilience efforts.
“Our key focus in Maldives is to support the energy resilience,” he said.
For the general managers in the room, the relevance lay in the financing options behind that objective. Osunkunle described IFC’s role within the World Bank Group as providing finance to the private sector. He placed that work alongside the group’s support for governments and its broader financing and advisory activities.
At the centre of his proposal was the opportunity for distributed generation. In describing opportunities for the Maldives, he pointed to rooftop solar, floating solar and other solar installations at resorts, alongside battery storage. These were the kinds of assets for which IFC could explore financing.
Osunkunle linked this focus to the difficulty of connecting every location within a geographically dispersed market. Supporting energy solutions at individual locations offered a way for the institution to respond to those constraints.
He identified two principal routes for providing support. One involved financing an energy asset developer. The other involved working with a commercial bank to fund the asset.
The two routes placed different partners within the financing structure, while serving the same objective: finding a workable way to address energy requirements. His emphasis was on examining the arrangements and identifying a solution appropriate to them.
Commercial viability remained a central condition. Osunkunle said IFC could help put risk mitigation solutions around a project, while stressing that the underlying investment needed to be bankable. Reducing exposure to high energy costs had to be accompanied by a credible commercial case.
For hospitality operators, that qualification connects the sustainability discussion directly to investment decisions. An energy proposal needs to work for the property and for those providing finance. In Osunkunle’s account, the opportunity was to develop the project and its financing structure together, with attention to the constraints that might otherwise prevent it from proceeding.
For resorts weighing their next energy investment, the invitation was to move from an ambition to reduce fossil fuel dependence towards a project that could attract finance. Osunkunle’s contribution to the resilience debate placed that work at the meeting point of technology, partnerships and commercial viability.
Established in 2016, the Hotelier Maldives GM Forum provides an annual platform for hospitality leaders and businesses serving the tourism sector to exchange perspectives on operational and strategic issues. The 2026 gathering marked the forum’s 10th edition.
A range of companies supporting different areas of the tourism industry partnered with GM Forum 2026.
Dhiraagu was the Premier Sponsor, while STO Energy was the Platinum Sponsor. Bank of Maldives (BML) was the Banking Partner, Dhivehi Insurance was the Insurance Partner, and Male’ Aerated Water Company (MAWC) was the Beverage Partner.
The Silver Sponsors were Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Villa Hakatha, Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) and Atoll Solar.
ALIA, Uniforms Unlimited, The Liquid Concept, Maldives Insider and Blue N White supported the forum as Associate Sponsors.
Souvenir Marine was the Transport Partner, Manta Air was the Aviation Partner, and Storm Events was the Organising Partner.
Through its 2026 programme and partnerships, the GM Forum brought together resort leadership and the businesses supporting hospitality operations to examine how the sector can strengthen resilience while adapting its people, technology and operating models.
