Authors:

Judith Owigar, Stefanie Holzwarth, Emmanuel Biririza (UNH)

The Capacity Building Tools and Updates report, developed as part of the Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) project, outlines the project’s objectives and scope to strengthen knowledge across stakeholders, as well as the methodology used to achieve those. This report focuses on Work Package 2 (WP2), specifically Task 2.2 (T2.2) on Capacity Tools and Methodologies. It provides an overview of the capacity building plan, the development of E-learning modules for various SESA energy solutions, the hosting platform for these courses, regional platforms, and a database of experts. The report also discusses the integration of various guidelines and methodologies related to demonstration projects, climate resilience, and renewable energy solutions into the SESA toolbox and the linkages that the work undertaken has with other EU (but not only) projects and initiative with a similar scope of work.

The Capacity Building Plan for the SESA project, developed under Task 2.1, assessed the present capacity and identified capacity gaps for the Living Lab sites in Kenya, Ghana, Malawi, and South Africa. The identified capacity gaps revolved around several thematic areas, including policy and legal gaps, stakeholder and community knowledge and awareness, limited human and technical skills, restricted access to finance, and inadequate infrastructure. These findings informed the development of the Capacity Building Programme and the content for E-learning modules, besides various other activities and deliverables within the SESA project which are closer to the specific topics, ultimately aiming to bridge the identified capacity gaps in sustainable energy development in the target countries.

The SESA project has established Regional Platforms that supports the organization and coordination of regional teams and partners, aiming to maximize the adoption and replication potential of energy innovations tested within the project. These platforms facilitate a common implementation methodology, allowing detailed plans for demonstration actions, technical and operational aspects, business model adaptation, stakeholder engagement, and replication to be developed. The Regional Platforms are organized both geographically and thematically, promoting knowledge exchange, region specific capacity building, and replication across partner regions. Regional Training and Exchange activities are linked to project activities including capacity building, established within regional platforms.

The Capacity Building Programme within the SESA project encompasses an integrated e-learning initiative hosted by the NUA Campus platform, developed in collaboration with partners such as TUB, the Wuppertal Institute, and UN-Habitat. The programme provides free access to self-paced courses as well as webinars for a diverse audience, including students and civil society organizations. These courses aim to promote knowledge sharing and capacity building, with the potential to reach a broader audience beyond the project’s scope through online dissemination and YouTube channels. Currently, courses cover topics such as Solar Energy, Clean Cooking/Waste to Energy, and Electric Mobility, with additional courses in the pipeline for subjects like Second Life EV Batteries, Rural Internet Access, and Smart Microgrids . The training curricula encompass a wide range of materials related to technical aspects and related issues such as local and national policies (especially in the webinars), including slide decks, presentations, module outlines, handouts, quizzes, key background material, videos, and webinars.

In summary, this report plays a pivotal role in the SESA project’s mission to promote sustainable energy solutions in Africa by providing a comprehensive overview of capacity building tools, methodologies, and strategies tailored to the specific needs of the Living Labs in multiple African regions.