President Obama’s trip this week to Nairobi, Kenya for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit offers an opportunity to shine a light on clean energy entrepreneurs working in African countries. That’s why the Sierra Club and 20 other civil society organizations and companies sent the President a letter urging him to showcase “beyond-the-grid” entrepreneurs as examples of successful entrepreneurship that creates jobs while providing the energy needed to help lift people out of poverty.
Through his Power Africa initiative, the President has shown that he understands the importance of ending energy poverty. Power Africa’s goal is to provide clean and efficient electricity while increasing electricity access for homes and businesses throughout sub-Saharan Africa. 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity, and this initiative is designed to solve that problem while creating economic growth.
While Power Africa has yet to truly realize its full potential, off-grid and small-scale clean energy solutions prioritized by the Beyond-the-Grid sub-initiative represent one of the most exciting aspects of Power Africa. Off-grid energy companies, including those featured in the letter to the President, offer affordable clean energy solutions in rural areas beyond the reach of centralized power grids. The basic energy access they provide improves education, health, and economic development outcomes on the timescales needed. The Summit is an opportunity to show how solar energy and the companies behind it make this possible.
Clean energy is also making strides through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation’s U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Finance (ACEF) initiative, which has directed millions of dollars toward renewable energy for the whole continent. ACEF-supported projects include a 150 megawatt Senegalese wind farm and a 12 megawatt run-of-the-river hydroelectric power facility in Rwanda.
In sum, we hope that President Obama seizes this unique opportunity to highlight these incredible energy access success stories.