The exchange project Exchange: Demand-Side Solutions to Financing Sustainable Energy in Southeast Asia (SEPS16) generally aimed to foster and support the upscaling, implementation, delivery and impact of renewable energy technologies in Southeast Asia. Based on previously existing knowledge and experiences, main goals for the exchange have been developed:

1. Empowering entrepreneurs by peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange based on best practices
2. Capacity-building for renewable energy entrepreneurs by providing specialized trainings on important topics in finance e.g. financial vocabulary, communicating business plans and building partnerships with the adequate investors 
3. Developing a platform for direct dialogue between entrepreneurs and investors for clearing out knowledge asymmetries e.g. risk vs. return, unfamiliarity with the technology, local context, loan structures etc. 
4. Establishing market connections to support implementation and delivery of low-carbon technology solutions in Southeast Asia. 

, running surveys, tailoring the platform to target audiences and eventually presenting the developed platform to the stakeholders. Related to this, the project resulted in a two-day knowledge exchange event on 26th and 27th of February 2019 in Yangon (Myanmar), where the participants  from different social enterprises and SMEs across Southeast Asia discussed the results and findings of NEXUS. By holding workshops and trainings for strengthening the capabilities of entrepreneurs, bringing investors and entrepreneurs together and presenting LIFT to the audience, the event was a clear success. Over 100 participants representing 77 organizations from more than 10 countries across Asia attended the event contributed to intense networking, knowledge sharing and optimization of NEXUS' knowledge and financing platform. 

Based on these experiences and accompanying research and dialogue between the stakeholders, NEXUS gathered the collected data into an online visualization tool, the Finance Solution Map. The online visualization makes 125 existing funds accessible to the user, who is able to filter potential funding opportunities according to his/her demands for the project. Until this moment, this online tool is the largest directory of financing schemes in the field of renewable energy in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, while designing the Finance Solutions Map, the LIFT program has been facilitated, including all the initiatives implemented by NEXUS in partnership with WISIONS: trainings, workshops, articles, case studies, knowledge content, webinars, reports and the finance solutions directory. All of these intend to address the knowledge and finance barriers, and accelerate sustainable and renewable energy technology entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia. In order to deliver the Finance Solutions Map and the LIFT program to the audience, NEXUS opened the online platform on their website.

Altogether combined, you can find there the maps, other research outputs and information related to capacity building and knowledge sharing. In addition to the map, LIFT also includes financial tools and definitions, content, several knowledge materials such as case studies, reports, infographics, webinars and the financial insights articles written post-event that summarized the key take-aways from the training sessions. 

Here you can find the Finance Solutions Map

And here the LIFT Program

To know more about the exchange program itself, you can click her: Exchange: Demand-Side Solutions to Financing Sustainable Energy in Southeast Asia (SEPS16)

The Jujuy province in the far north-west of Argentina can be described as mostly rural and experiences the shortcomings of industrial transformation since the local mining sector is declining in its importance to the Argentinian economy. Under these circumstances Fundacion EcoAndina provides alternatives and promotes solar energy to the local communities and educational institutions as a mean to make Jujuy more sustainable and establishing sustainable economic development in the region. The work of Fundacion EcoAndina is mostly focussed on raising awareness in schools, universities and local communities as well as showcasing the technical experience of EcoAndina in their CEDIERA centre. This centre consists of theirEcoSolar House, a best practice example for energy efficient building construction, and a technology park with different examples of solar technology (e-bikes, solar cookers, warm water systems and more). More detailed information about the work of Fundacion EcoAndina and their CEDIERA centre is accessible on our website Exchange: Jujuy On The Path To Green Energy (SEPS16) and from EcoAndina. 

This year, EcoAndina was very active and conducted several lectures, presentations, trainings, capacity-building and awareness events. Especially raising awareness for sustainable development solutions at events such as „World Environment Day“ in local schools contributed highly in institutionalizing the importance of implementing sustainable alternatives in rural communities such as in Jujuy. Furthermore, EcoAndina hold lectures and technical trainings for university students in the field of engineering and economics. These technical trainings are also open to local residents in order to learn more about the benefits of solar energy in the household and daily life. During these trainings, events and presentations, EcoAndina collaborated with regional and national partners such as the Ministry of Environment, , National Advisory Board for Future Energy Politics in Argentina and Ministry of Education. In particular the educational institutions recognized the importance of the topic and approached EcoAndina for developing school curricula on sustainable development in primary and secondary schools. But also tertiary educational institutions approached EcoAndina for collaborations, namely University of National Defense and National University of Jujuy. 

Especially the latter collaborations enabled the opportunity for students from the economics department to absolve internships at Fundacion EcoAndina, which creates mutual benefits for EcoAndina and the students. First the students can apply their theoretical knowledge directly in the field of sustainability and renewable energy. Second the Foundation EcoAndina strengthens their networks and can further develop a sustainable business model in cooperation with the arrived interns. Related to this, additional interns from the United States and Spain have been welcomed by Fundacion EcoAndina. Summing up the variety of organized public events, the support of WISIONS enabled Fundacion EcoAndina to become a well recognized and institutionalized regional NGO for the promotion of solar energy in Jujuy. From the perspective of WISIONS it is exciting to observe, how the financial support of WISIONS enabled a local NGO in rural Argentina to create impact and further becoming an institution for renewable energy promotion in the region. In a nutshell, their expertise on solar energy combined with the support of WISIONS made EcoAndina a highly acknowledged institution for consultation for renewable energy solutions in the region. 

Find more information about the work of Fundacion EcoAndina on their website or Facebook page. Here you can discover the latest activities of EcoAndina and how they aim to make Jujuy more aware of renewable energy opportunities. 

Hola hispanohablantes! The fifth edition of the RedBioLAC webinar series is coming and this time it will be all about: "Case studies for the implementation of anaerobic biodigestion in the Argentinian poultry sector". More information about speakers and timetable will be announced soon! Register here following this Link!

Spanish version: 

Hola hispanohablantes! La quinta edición de la serie de webinars de la serie de webinars de RedBioLACestá llegando y esta vez se tratará de todo: „Casos de estudios para la implementación de la biodigestión anaeróbica en el sector avícola argentino". Próximamente se anunciará más información sobre los ponentes y el horario. Regístrese aquí siguiendo este enlace!