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...

Harnessing the scaling and replication potential of sustainable energy solutions in Africa: “2nd SESA Call for Entrepreneurs 2023” is open. Munich, May 2, 2023 - Siemens Stiftung on behalf of the Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) consortium, invites local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania to apply for the “2nd SESA Call for Entrepreneurs 2023”. The call is looking for entrepreneurs with expertise in addressing the continent's energy access challenges with a focus on rural and off-grid communities. Enterprises can apply for the call...

The first course in SESA’s Capacity Building Programme is now available! The online programme, designed to close the knowledge gap around renewable and smart energy solution technologies, aims to help participants understand what alternative technologies exist and how they work.  Case studies and examples relevant to the African context make up the foundation of the courses, but the programme is open to all participants who want to enter the world of sustainable energy, seek alternatives to traditional energy sources and opt for sustainable development in both urban and rural contexts.   The...

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...

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...

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...

SESA is a project, which 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. However, one of the questions we asked ourselves is "How can we get information on energy to people who do not have access to the Internet?" and that’s how the initiative of deploying the SESA Info-spots was born. Africa has about 20% of all landmass of the world and  to cover large areas makes installation of broadband challenging and expensive. Given the lower income in rural areas, the...

Target countries: Ghana, Malawi and South Africa 5 mid-stage start-up companies will be financially supported under European Union (EU) funded SESA project through its incubator programme.There is an opening for up to 2-3 regional mentors who have experience working with start-ups in the focus countries. 5 start-ups will focus on:Solar solutions for irrigation and buildings, Waste-to-energy solutions and off-grid energy solutions with battery storage (it would be a big plus if mentors have experience in these focus areas). Mentoring duration: March 2023- June 2024 with defined number of...

The SESA Call for Entrepreneurs 2022 was a great success, with many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana, Malawi, Morocco, and South Africa applying with their innovative Productive Use of Energy (PUE) solutions. The official results from the competition can now be found in an infographic below, which provides an overview of the applicants by country and sector. The winners of the competition are set to receive funding ranging from €50,000 to €70,000 per business over 18 months. This funding will be used to validate selected proof of concepts and business models for upscaling....

The past 25-28 October, 2022 the SESA consortium hosted its first General Assembly and Regional Event.  The visit took place in Nairobi and Kisumu (Kenya) and gathered 46 representatives from the organisations part of the initiative. The activities were divided into three main events: The General Assembly which took place from 25-26 October in Nairobi, where partners got together in person for the first time to share achieved milestones, engage in collaborative work and define next steps for the project. The first Regional event took place from 27-28 October in Kisumu, involving the launch...