WISIONS was at the 5th ARE EAIF. Hosted by the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), in partnership with the African Development Bank and GET.invest (formerly RECP), this was the first time the forum took place in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 588 million people still lack electricity.

The Forum convened over 260 participants from 48 countries with the goal to boost sustainable energy access globally and in particular in Africa. It showcased the latest off-grid political and funding initiatives and was an opportunity to discuss trends and innovations and build partnerships. 

WISIONS had first-hand insights into the role that practitioners in West Africa are playing in accelerating the achievement of sustainable energy access goals. We also exchanged our experiences on partnering with local energy practitioners via practitioner networks.

The Forum also featured the ARE Awards 2019, showcasing companies and organisations which have made special contributions to advance rural electrification. 

For more info see ARE’s press release.

(Foto: ARE; All rights reserved)

The two-day workshop – which was realised with WISIONS’s financial support - was divided in two parts, both with a very interactive approach to ensure peer-to-peer learning and networking among the participants – who ranged from practitioners to start-ups and international finance experts. The overall idea and aim was to contribute to a “demystification of financier’s approaches” and foster interaction.
Main emphasis of day one was on the training of about 40 energy practitioners to increase their financial literacy, optimise their cash flow management and understand pros and cons of different financing models. Participants were enthusiastic and described the course as “this was like a one-day MBA and an eye-opener”, helping to develop a more realistic pitch for their approaches.
In cooperation with ANDE – the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs – Nexus for development gathered on the second day about 100 people, next to the energy practitioners also investors and intermediaries that intend to bridge the often applied communication gaps between the worlds of finance and social entrepreneurs.
For WISIONS’s team – who attended as well - it was fascinating to see how these people from completely different backgrounds animated and supported each other during the several interactive sessions.
What was more, the Finance Solutions Map of Nexus was launched, which provides an overview of 100+ financial schemes dedicated to clean energy, water, and sanitation entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia and presents publicly available information on a range of finance solutions.

Access the Finance Solutions Map here!

After months of research and dialogue with various partners, Nexus developed this online tool. Entrepreneurs can use the filter function to identify potential funding. The Map is complemented by additional resources also available on the Nexus website.

A list of 14 financial and non-financial tools utilised to scale enterprises in these sectors are accompanied by their definition. Potential challenges and benefits are included to highlight the financier and entrepreneur perspective. To further promote mutual understanding and the replication of successful financial products, Nexus has also produced case studies. These offer an overview of the financial scheme with a focus on learnings, impact measurement and risk mitigation.

Read/download Nexus' report here: Leveraging Innovative Finance Together – Workshop Report

More information about this SEPS Exchange Activity: Demand-Side Solutions to Financing Sustainable Energy in Southeast Asia

And on Nexus LIFT side: https://nexusfordevelopment.org/lift/

Watch the recording on Youtube here!

Renewable energy mini-grids are a cost-effective and reliable solution for energy access. Within the technologies available for mini-grids, micro and mini hydropower has added advantages. Its techno-economic characteristics, such as lower levelised cost of electricity, per kilowatt cost, and no need for battery storage, make it economically viable for grid interconnection and productive end use applications.

Micro and mini hydropower (MHP) implementation involves technical expertise in hydrology, civil works, electro-mechanical, electrical, and electronics. Thanks to the pioneers of knowledge transfer for small-scale hydropower, comprehensive and frequent training was made available in the 1990s to practitioners in the global south. While such training is rare in the present-day scenario, the earlier efforts led to the creation of local experts who have since established local training centers. The Southeast Asia region particularly benefits from micro hydropower training centers.

This webinar – the first in a series of four webinars – will feature the following training centers that provide local capacity building for the development, operation, and maintenance of community-based micro hydro projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines:

• Tonibung Center for Renewable Energy and Appropriate Technology (CREATE), Malaysia
• ASEAN Hydropower Competence Centre (HYCOM), Indonesia
• SIBAT Center for RE and Appropriate Technology (CREATech), Philippines