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SolarAid Scheme to Help Bring Solar Power to All Super-Rural African Households by 2030
SolarAid, the international development charity, has today announced the launch of a new pilot project that will provide solar lighting to all homes in a single super-rural Malawi community, with a view to proving a model that could bring renewable energy to all super-rural households across the continent.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Six New Climate Finance Ideas for a Sustainable Recovery
The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) has selected six new climate finance ideas for its 2021 acceleration programme.
- Categories
- Investing
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Analysis: In Uganda, Solar Home Systems Help Students Stay in School
One provider in Uganda is proving that an often-overlooked benefit of PAYGo – financial inclusion – can also affect education outcomes by keeping kids in the classroom.
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Angola Receives US $250 Million From World Bank to Enhance Electricity Access
The government of Angola has received US$250 million from the World Bank to improve the operational performance of the electricity sector utilities and increase electricity access in selected cities of Angola.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- energy access
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India Needs Over $900 Billion in Climate Finance by 2030: This Roadmap Can Mobilize Private Sector Investment
India is committed to lowering its greenhouse gas emissions, but its goals under the Paris Agreement are not ambitious enough. Simmi Sareen at GreenFunder and Shravan Shankar at the BIG Green Collaborative argue that the country must focus on increasing energy storage and efficiency, decreasing agriculture and manufacturing emissions, and adapting to a more hostile climate. They explore how innovative and scalable technology can address these priorities by 2030 — and how strengthening India’s climate financing structures can help generate the $100 billion in yearly private investment this will require.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
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An Overlooked Engine of Economic Growth: Delivering Products – and Enabling Livelihoods – in Refugee Communities
The Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee camps in Kenya are home to nearly 200,000 people from 22 countries. Contrary to the stereotype of refugee settlements, these are thriving communities with around 2,500 businesses and over $56 million in economic activity per year. But as Sasha Kapadia at Mastercard points out, their economic growth is stifled by a lack of reliable electricity. She discusses a public-private partnership co-chaired by Mastercard and USAID, which is training people in these communities as sales agents for solar energy products, to spur entrepreneurship and boost access to energy and other essential products.
- Categories
- Energy
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Kenyan Energy Startup, SunCulture Obtains $11 Million for Its Solar-Powered Irrigation Expansion Across Africa
SunCulture, a solar irrigation startup headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, has received an $11 million line of credit to expand its operations across sub-Saharan Africa.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Minigrids and Cold Storage Are a Match Made in Sustainable Development Heaven – So What’s Keeping Them Apart?
The minigrid sector faces a dilemma: Most rural customers need electricity in the evenings, yet most minigrids generate their power during the day. This requires them to store unused power in expensive batteries, complement their solar power with diesel generators, or reduce production. As Seth Silverman and Tom Chaplin at Factor[e] Ventures explain, cold storage providers could offer minigrids reliable demand for their surplus power – yet these partnerships aren't happening. They explore the obstacles, and some potential solutions.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy
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