The Energy Talk - Storytellers of Africa's Energy Transition

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Recorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids market to boost electricity access in 21 countries, its mission is to enhance economic dev...

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 InfraCo Africa is one of the few financiers that provides equity investments in large-scale infrastructure projects in Africa. Typically investing in projects in the early stages of their development, all the way through construction and operational stages. 

So far, Infraco has invested over $300 million into projects in Sub-Saharan Africa,...

Subscribe to our Clean Energy Africa newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/dc168bd41a97/sign-up-here

Recorded live during the Energy Access Investment Forum in May, this 2 part mini-series covers the African Mini-Grid Program (AMP). The AMP is a USD 50 million country-led technical assistance program designed to stimulate the solar-battery mini-grids market to boost electricity access in 21 countries, its mission is to enhance economic dev...

Nico joins us this week to share from his two decades of experience deploying Decentralized Renewable Energy projects, consulting governments on off-grid electrification policy, and what the emerging trends mean for financiers looking into Sub-Saharan Africa.

This episode has already been published on "The Mini-Grid Business" podcast hosted by Nico. You can listen to an exclusive part 2 linked here.

Guest Bio:  

Nico is the CEO, and c...

Arnergy is a renewable energy company providing solar solutions to residential and commercial customers. Combined, Arnergy has raised $12M in a Series A and bridge round and is now gearing up for a big Series B fundraiser. In this episode, we speak with the company's CFO, James Fabola Jr., about operating in a difficult market and exciting growth opportunities. 

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SolarAid is an international development charity working alongside communities in the most rural and hard-to-reach areas of sub-Saharan Africa to tackle poverty and the climate crisis through access to clean, safe solar lights. Aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 7, which advocates for universal access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy, SolarAid is dedicated to combating global poverty and climate change by prov...

GridCrux is a technology and power infrastrucure company that develops, engineers, finances and deploys alternative energy solutions to the unserved and underserved segments of the African continent. The company's solutions leverage existing technology, primarily multiple energy management systems, as a means of delivering optimized energy solutions and carbon reduction imperatives with a fine blend of innovative financing solution...

Odyssey's mission is to accelerate the clean energy transition in emerging markets. The Odyssey platform connects financiers, solar companies and equipment suppliers in one place to facilitate transactions, streamline processes and scale investment into distributed renewable energy. Financiers use Odyssey to source and manage deals, solar companies can access financing, equipment procurement and monitoring tools, and equipment supp...

Founded in 2010, Persistent Energy is Africa’s Climate Venture Builder and a leading investor. The company provides essential support including finance, strategic guidance, governance, technical and legal expertise to early-stage companies committed to creating sustainable impact. They have developed and deployed an interesting venture building model that fills in critical resource gaps for early-stage companies innovating across s...

In the eighth and final episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Henok Assefa - Founder and Managing Partner at PRECISE, and Dr. Paul Yillia - COO and Technical Advisor, TENN to find out how policy design and finance go hand-hand in ensuring that farmers in rural communities can afford their energy needs for their agricultural production.

This series is hosted by Marilyn Smith of the Energy ...

In the seventh episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Anshul Ojha - Founder and Principal anchor for the Desert Resource Center, and Ralph Roothaert - Principal Investigator of – Veggies 4 Planet & People (V4P&P) Project and Country Director – of Kenya Eastern and Southern Africa.

This series is hosted by Marilyn Smith of the Energy Action Project (EnAct) and produced in collaboration with...

In this episode, we discuss the intricacies of the landmark $10M partnership between Crossboundary Access (CBA) and Mobile Power–a partnership that promises to unlock energy access for over 300,000 people within Nigeria.

CrossBoundary is an investment firm focused on unlocking capital for sustainable growth and strong returns in underserved markets. Identifying Africa as one of the critically underserved markets a decade ago, CrossB...

In the sixth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Nirmita Chandrashekar a licensed architect and Senior Program Manager with SELCO Foundation in India, and Bijal Brahmbatt from the Mahila Housing Trust or MHT, a non-profit that was selected as a Women Changemakers India Fellow by Womanity Foundation. In this episode, we will focus on delivering cost-effective renewable energy-based solu...

In the fifth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we continue our conversation from the last episode of the series joined by Shweta Narayan from the India-based NGO  "Health Care Without Harm", and Shri Ram Kumar S, IAS - Project Director of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project (MEGHSSP).

 This series is hosted by Marilyn Smith of the Energy Action Project (EnAct) and produced in collaborat...

Donor-funded catalytic capital has been an integral part of the growth of the off-grid energy sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by de-risking new technologies and business models. David Arinze joins us in this episode to discuss the ecosystem impact and growth of projects funded by catalytic capital and how it is allowing organizations to scale enough to attract commercial capital.

David is the Program Officer for Off-Grid Energy at Diam...

In the fourth episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Rachita Misra - Associate Director of Knowledge and Advocacy with SELCO Foundation in India, and Heather Adair-Rohani - Acting Head of Air Quality, Energy and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss the energy and health nexus. Focusing first on ways to bridge the gap between grassroots solutions and high-level policy. 

...

In the third episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Supriya Gowda - Project Manager of Agriculture for the SELCO Foundation, and Makena Ireri - former Director of Clean Energy Access Research at CLASP to discuss distributed energy for agriculture in the Global South, focusing on small-hold farmers in India. This episode highlights the impact of climate change on their livelihoods and the ...

In the second episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Ganesh Neelam-Director of Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives (CInI) and Huda Jaffer-Director of SELCO Foundation to discuss how improving access to clean affordable energy and energy efficient equipment & services is critical for small and marginal farmers with less than two hectares of land that account over 85% of all f...

In the first episode of the Distributed Energy For People & The Planet series, we are joined by Harish Hande: founder of SELCO Foundation, and Gauri Singh: Deputy Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) to discuss the important role that policy and innovation plays in ensuring equitable outcomes in the push towards SDG7 (Sustainable Development Goal 7 is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals establis...