Power for All Concludes DRE101 Workshops in Nigeria
Power for All wrapped up its DRE101 trainings under the Scaling Off-Grid Energy (SOGE) project with two trainings in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Ibadan. The workshops were targeted at policymakers from the North West and South West states respectively.
The DRE101 workshop in Kano was held on 3rd and 4th of July, with over 50 policymakers and researchers from four states in the region in attendance. The DRE101 workshop in Ibadan was held on 10th and 11th of July, with 43 policymakers from four states in the region. Overall, there have been six workshops under the SOGE project, attended by over 500 policymakers in total.
The second day of the workshops featured technical working sessions with community associations, market groups and trade associations, where participants learnt about how DRE can increase energy access for their communities and businesses. The participants also suggested ideas on how to further drive DRE in their states and communities.
Power for All’s Nigeria Country Director Ifeoma Malo said: “These sessions are critical to getting the buy-in of these stakeholders, and to give them ownership of the ideas, so that they are able to influence public policy as well as be proactive in driving the adoption of DRE in their communities.”
Making the Nigerian DRE Sector Resilient and Sustainable
The Nigeria Country Director for Power for All, Ifeoma Malo, and the Associate for the Resilience and Service Delivery Program of Power for All Nigeria, Chisom Okoye, have co-authored anarticle for Environment Africa Magazine on how to build resilience and sustainability into the Nigerian DRE sector.
The article discusses the intersectionality between developing human capital for the Decentralized Renewable Energy sector, and an increase in finance modalities for both consumers and providers as critical factors to sustaining the growth of the DRE sector.
With the Nigerian Mini-Grid sector alone poised to have as many as 10,000 mini grids over the next three years, Malo and Okoye argue that building human capital and ensuring access to financial capital are two core ways to make this industry more resilient.
Nigeria Country Director on Nigeria’s Off-grid Sector
PowerUp, an online publication focusing on the Nigerian power sector, interviewed Power for All’s Nigeria Country Director, Ifeoma Malo, on the state of the Nigerian power sector in general, offgrid electricity in Nigeria, and Power for All’s work in the country since it started its Nigeria campaign.
Malo pointed out that one challenge the industry has been grappling with is a negative perception about renewable energy in Nigeria, due to poorly executed projects in the past.
She also emphasized that off-grid electricity is a significant part of the solution to Nigeria’s electricity problems, especially for rural and last-mile communities.
“Rural communities such as Gbamu-Gbamu in Ogun State and Bisanti in Niger State through mini-grids are now enjoying 24/7 electricity,” said Malo. “These communities would have been waiting for the slow expansion of the grid to reach them, but with DRE, they now have access to electricity.”
New Research Manager at Power for All
Eva Lee (pictured above) has joined Power for All as our Research Manager.
Eva will be rolling up sleeves to dig in to primary research needs for the DRE sector, and will work directly on our human capital research program and our mini-grid research stream, among other projects.
She comes to Power for All with a strong research background and applied industry experience, having worked as a business analyst studying consumer demand with Rafiki, a Tanzanian based mini-grid company and our campaign partners.