AfricaConnect

How you can help

Partners: We need you to get involved

The Africa Power Scheme is seen as a collaborative undertaking, working with all organizations that wish to see the improved delivery and operation of renewable energy projects.

Collaboration with charities, aid agencies, NGOs and donors will be necessary to gather the required information. The community will be consulted on the performance of the project. Resources to appoint a local energy agent will be sought. Communication with local and national government is important as their involvement could have an influence on the sustainability of the project.

AfricaConnect is seeking seed money to develop the APS databases and launch a small hydro project. It is expected that once the value of the Africa Power Scheme is demonstrated, it should be able to raise additional resources. A voluntary carbon trading system could possibly be used to raise funds. AfricaConnect seeks to improve governance at a local level, with a model that could be replicated across large areas of sub-Saharan Africa.

Importance of involvement:

NGOs and charitable organizations operating in Africa are invited to be part of the Africa Power Scheme to identify, in the areas where they are working, energy deficiencies that are hindering economic and social development. In many cases their own operations will be compromised by the lack of energy services.

International development institutions who are providing funds for renewable energy projects may wish to become members of the scheme to monitor their effectiveness and sustainability.

Private companies operating in Africa may wish to support renewable energy projects as part of their corporate social responsibility programme. Identifying suppliers and monitoring the outcome of the project would be important in ensuring that their resources were well spent. They may also be able to offer managerial expertise, which can be lacking in NGO-operated projects.

It is important to involve local and national governments in the implementation of renewable energy systems to ensure that the project has their endorsement and to access subsidies, where available.

It is the local community who will assess whether the project has improved their access to energy services. All too often, the project is the focus and not the community. Local ownership is likely to improve the sustainability of the services. Other benefits of ownership are that it can provide employment and entrepreneurial skills.