A select group of African women energy entrepreneurs are set to undergo a capacity building session in Nairobi, Kenya on the 10th of April 2018, courtesy of the Africa office of the UN Environment, the Renewable Energy Solutions For Africa (RES4Africa) and other partners.
Over 25 women working as energy entrepreneurs who are already participating in a week-long training on Micro-Grid for women energy entrepreneurs from the East Africa Community which is holding in Nairobi from 4th to 13th of April 2018 are expected to attend.
Other women entrepreneurs from Europe including Italy will also participate in this training to boost south-south cooperation and share best practices.
According to Meseret Zemedkun of the UN Environment, the one-day meeting on 10th April 2018 is to share best practices on renewable energy development among trainees, instructors and representatives of partners of Microgrid Academy.
The objective of this training, UN says, “is to enhance access to energy in rural communities, local enterprises and job creation. This will positively impact on health and education services, women empowerment, environmental protection and climate change mitigation.”
The workshop will be held at the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) facilities in Nairobi and will use the 20 – 40kW micro-grid for hands-on training. It will support managers and engineers to plan, design, build and operate grid connected as well as hybrid mini-grids.
The workshop will be held within the framework of the implementation of the innovative environmental solutions, as recommended by the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN). It would be recalled that AMCEN in December 2017 called on countries in the region to strengthen the technical and business skills of African women entrepreneurs in the energy sector.
The workshop will be led by the Micro-Grid Academy (MGA). The academy is an Eastern-African capacity building platform that aims to enhance access to energy and green jobs market through technical and entrepreneurial training programmes. The platform focuses on decentralized renewable energy solutions.
