EEP Africa and the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE) hosted a joint webinar on 14 February to present case studies of projects that have promoted the productive use of energy.
Based on our recent report Powering Productivity: Lessons Learned in Green Growth from the EEP Africa Portfolio, the projects presented highlight key innovations in the sector and the evolution of productive use business models. Close to 60 members of ARE and other partners registered for the session, which lasted almost two hours due to a lively question and answer session after the speaker presentations.
After brief introductions of the host organizations, the EEP Africa M&E Advisor, Anise Sacranie, provided an overview of the findings in Powering Productivity. This includes an analysis of productive use value chains for stand-alone systems and mini-grids. The report shows that mini-grid operators have developed three main business models to adapt to the local context and fill gaps in the value chain. EEP Africa identified these different approaches as: Energy Supply Model, Business Acceleration Model, and Supplier-Offtaker Model.
Three projects highlighted as case studies in the report were then discussed in more detail:
- Supplementing Productivity and Growth with Clean Energy in Tanzania presented by Florence Tesha, Managing Director of REDAVIA Tanzania
- Usingini Mini-Hydro Power Generation in Malawi presented by Dwight Kambuku, Project Manager at Practical Action
- Sustainable Energy and Agro-Processing Hubs in Uganda presented by Nicolas Fouassier, CEO of Pamoja Cleantech
Thanks to all the speakers for an interesting and informative event.
