The Ethiopian government and World Bank Group (WBG) are holding high-level talks about the first round of the Scaling Solar programme, in which Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power was awarded two 125MW projects – Gad and Dicheto – on 11 September after bidding $0.02526/kWh. However, questions are being asked about the disqualification of the four remaining bidders. The involvement of the International Finance Corporation in the bids appears to have raised unexpected issues, while the process also encountered challenges around foreign exchange and Ethiopia’s difficult macroeconomic environment.