The ACCF Coordinator, Rita Effah, and Program Officer, Emile Kouakou conducted a supervision mission to Uganda and Kenya from June 20 to 25 2022 for the Green Energy for Women and Youth Resilience project.
The mission aimed to engage key stakeholders including, financial service providers (FSPs), sustainable energy companies, and energy product end-users in the sustainable energy value chain in both countries about the project results achieved so far.
Under the first output of the project focusing on access to climate financing, the team observed that the project contributed to increasing access of MSMEs to financial services with about 1,744 loans disbursed as of May 31, 2022, for young women and men representing a cumulative amount of $78,429 of which $49,448 were for women (63%). Although this amount was well below the set target of $650,000, by the end of the project, it is expected that more loans will be made available to target beneficiaries as the project signs partnership agreements with additional FSPs. The Managing Director of Tujijenge, a Microfinance Company in Uganda, Mr. Forb Busingye, commented on the relevance of the project indicating that: “It has contributed to the refinement of our clean energy portfolio to better suit youth-led businesses. Most importantly, the project has contributed to growth in our clientele through increased mobilization of consumers to take on more renewable energy products.”
Additionally, the review of the project’s focus on building youth entrepreneurship skills building, saw about 1,122 (representing 60 % of the target of 2,250) young men and women trained in both countries on basic financial management, accounting practices, and basic business models. These trainees are working as sales agents and resellers in rural communities in both countries.
Wesley Sang, a 22-year-old student at Meru University of Science and Technology, a sales agent, said this about the project: “What I earned selling energy products has contributed to paying my school fees. I no longer rely on my parents for money, and I have bought a piece of land in my hometown.”
The project is implemented by the AVSI Foundation in partnership with CIDR-PAMIGA, an organization that provides small businesses and households with easier access to markets, energy, finance, water, and sustainable agriculture. The project is contributing to Uganda and Kenya’s transition to low carbon development and scaling up access to climate finance through the promotion of jobs and MSMEs in the sustainable energy value chain and by strengthening Financial Service Providers’ capacities to deliver sustainable energy finance, therefore improving the availability and accessibility of renewable energy products for last mile end users.
