On 26 April 2023, the Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) project hosted an online webinar focused on solar energy.

With Africa’s abundant solar potential and the urgent need for energy access, the webinar aimed to address barriers and outline a future for solar energy in African countries. Organized by UN-Habitat, Smart Innovation Norway, and ICLEI WS, the webinar marked the culmination of the SESA capacity building program’s first course on solar energy.

Africa possesses one of the world’s highest solar energy potentials, which plays a crucial role in energy transition and increasing energy access. However, numerous economic, regulatory, and social barriers hinder the widespread implementation of solar projects. To tackle these challenges, the SESA project brought together representatives from national and local governments, international organizations, financial institutions, project developers, and end users.

The webinar emphasized the importance of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #7, which calls for universal access to clean and affordable energy by 2030. Currently, over 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity, highlighting the magnitude of the issue and the need for collaborative solutions.

SESA’s living labs, established in nine African countries, aim to co-develop scalable and replicable energy access innovations. These innovations include decentralized renewables such as solar photovoltaics, innovative energy storage systems utilizing second-life electric vehicle batteries, smart microgrids, waste-to-energy systems, climate-proofing measures, resilience and adaptation solutions, and rural internet access.

The SESA webinar on solar energy served as a platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration to drive the implementation of solar projects in Africa. By addressing economic, regulatory, and social barriers, the SESA project seeks to unlock the transformative potential of solar energy for sustainable development and increased energy access across the continent. Through partnerships and the co-development of innovative solutions, SESA strives to create local opportunities for economic development and social cohesion, paving the way for a brighter and more sustainable future in Africa. 

See the “Unlocking the potential of solar energy in Africa” full presentation below:

See the “WeTu: Implementing solar energy solutions in Africa – Productive Use of Energy” full presentation below:

10 companies have been selected to take part in the program which aims at introducing companies to methods and strategies for reaching problem solution fit faster.

The selected companies are:

• Nastech power solutions
• Econexus
• Smart Energy Enterprises
• Green Solar academy
• Cellys Technologies
• JERU
• aiScarecrow Technologies
• Magufina
• Wattsc
• Malasha Briquettes

On the first seminar all the companies selected were introduced to each other and to the mentors from Smart Innovation Norway. This was followed by seminar on topic of Startup/Scaleup Life Cycle.

From now onwards there will be seminar and workshop every Thursday for next 5 weeks where companies will work on various topics of start-up development under the guidance of mentors. The upcoming planned are:

• 16th March: ‘Market Plan’
• 23rd March: ‘Promoting & Pricing’
• 30th March: ‘Revenue and business modeling’
• 13th April: ‘Demo day’

Community and Knowledge Exchange are at the heart of the SESA Project. Given its multiple thematic areas and experts from different fields and countries, a lot is to be learnt from each other and shared as widely as possible to strengthen global and local capacities for the implementation of sustainable energy projects. Therefore, as part of WP2 which focuses on capacity building, online Community of Practices will be launched and maintained to strengthen the capacities of decision makers, practitioners and businesses in sustainable energy in Africa.

The Community of Practices will serve as platforms to share knowledge and best experiences, identify experts to answer queries and maintain a network of relevant actors, organizations and businesses on sustainable energy development. This will help countries to increase confidence into developing sustainable energy solutions, through:

• Peer-to-peer exchange on lessons learnt through pilot projects
• Formal & informal dialogues between various projects to facilitate spill-over of knowledge
• Networking with other related initiatives in the region
• Facilitate scale-up and replication of projects in other countries across Africa
• Develop policies, business models and financial schemes
• Strengthen capacities for the implementation of sustainable energy projects in Africa

The first of these communities focusing on electric mobility and batteries has been launched end the end of 2022 under the coordination of UNEP. The objective of this community of practice is to bring together consortium members and partners working on topics regarding E-mobility and batteries in Africa to enhance knowledge exchange and project implementation.

The Community of Practice is linked to UNEP’s Africa Support and Investment Platform for E-mobility which supports countries and cities in Africa with the shift to electric mobility through developing projects, sharing knowledge and building capacity for their implementation as well as creating opportunities for wider uptake and financing of electric mobility in the region. Its objective is to become the leading electric mobility marketplace in Africa where potential project concepts meet and match potential financiers and technology suppliers. 

The community of practice on electric mobility and batteries is already over 280 people strong and growing. In 2022, four trainings took place on the topics of 1) E-mobility standards and regulations, 2) E-mobility polices and strategies 3) Electric vehicle battery management and end of life treatment, and 4) Integration of electric vehicles and electricity grids. This year the first in person event will take place in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) on 20-21st March with a focus on financing of electric mobility and circular management of batteries. More information on the event will soon be available here.

With support from the community, SESA partners and other relevant actors on the sustainable energy solutions ecosystem SESA will provide more than 250 tools and knowledge products on the topics of electric mobility and batteries in Africa and globally.

The community of practice on electric mobility is open and running. If you would like to receive regular updates on its activities and trainings, kindly send an email to unep-emobility@un.org.

Siemens Stiftung on behalf of the Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) consortium is excited to announce the winners of the “SESA Call for Entrepreneurs 2022”.

Launched in September 2022, the open and competitive call for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focused on Productive Use of Energy (PUE) solutions in Ghana, Malawi, Morocco, and South Africa.

The inaugural call for entrepreneurs encouraged women-led enterprises to apply, resulting in over 30 percent of the total applications coming from female founders.

Meet the winners

• Econexus Ventures Limited (Ghana) a female-led enterprise co-founded by Patience Alifo, provides affordable, reliable, and clean-burning bioethanol and cookstoves as alternatives to polluting cooking fuels.
• Nastech Power Solutions (Ghana) founded by Samuel Asare, develops affordable, reliable and durable solar energy solutions from electronic waste and recycled plastics.
• Smart Energy Enterprise (SEE) (Malawi) under the leadership of Gift Mwangairo offers solar-powered irrigation systems, customised advisory services and access to markets for smallholder farmers.
• GREEN Solar Academy (South Africa) is a female-founded independent training provider of solar PV systems, envisioning to make renewable energy accessible for all Africans. Antje Klauss-Vorreiter is the CEO of the enterprise.

The four winners obtain sub-contracts from €50,000 up to €70,000 per business over 18 months, with the aim of validating selected proof of concepts and business models for up-scaling. Beginning at the end of February 2023, they will join the SESA Incubator Programme: receiving mentoring and tailored growth support and capacity-building programmes to prepare them for follow-on funding and to strengthen the financial sustainability of their enterprises. They will also benefit from the consortium partners’ diverse expertise, experience, and networks.

“Empowering entrepreneurs to increase the use of renewable energies will drive sustainable development and catalyse a more equitable and prosperous future for all. My heartiest congratulations to all, we are particularly delighted to have two promising women-led enterprises amongst the winners”, added Dr. Nina Smidt, Managing Director and Spokesperson of the Board at Siemens Stiftung.

The European Commission-funded SESA project aims to ensure the applicability, replicability, adaption and scalability of innovative business solutions across Africa. A SESA expert jury selected the four enterprises after screening close to 100 applications based on their replication potential. Under its overarching vision of energy access for all, the winning solutions seek to enable economic growth along with creating jobs and contributing to low-carbon development.

SESA Project Coordinator and ICLEI Europe Representative, Magdalena Sikorowska welcomed the four companies into the SESA Consortium: “Your contribution and expertise will accelerate the implementation of clean energy projects and improve the socio-economic conditions of local communities. Within SESA, we aim at empowering entrepreneurs and developing local innovation!”

About Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA)

SESA is a collaborative project between the European Union and nine African countries (Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Nigeria) that aims at providing energy access technologies and business models that are easily replicable and generate local opportunities for economic development and social cohesion in Africa.

Through several local active labs, it is expected to facilitate the co-development of scalable and replicable energy access innovations, to be tested, validated, and later replicated throughout the African continent. These solutions will include decentralised renewables (solar photovoltaics), innovative energy storage systems including the use of second-life electric vehicle batteries, smart microgrids, waste-to-energy systems (biomass to biogas), climate-proofing, resilience and adaptation, and rural internet access.

About Siemens Stiftung

As a nonprofit foundation, Siemens Stiftung promotes sustainable social development, which is crucially dependent on access to basic services, high-quality education, and an understanding of culture. To this effect, their project work supports people in taking the initiative to responsibly address current challenges. Together with partners, they develop and implement solutions and programs to support this effort, with technological and social innovation playing a central role. Their actions are impact-oriented and conducted in a transparent manner.