Event - Webinar: The role of end-user subsidies in strengthening solar markets for refugees in Uganda

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Title

Webinar: The role of end-user subsidies in strengthening solar markets for refugees in Uganda

Organizer

GOGLA, Endev, Lighting Global

Type

Online Seminars

Focus

• Humanitarian Energy
• Solar
• Off-grid
• Energy Access
• Renewable Energy

Start

2023/02/08 3:00 PM CET

Country

• Netherlands

Venue

Online

URL

link to the event

Description

The growing population of refugees and displaced persons poses a serious challenge to achieving universal access to electricity. These groups often experience minimal access to energy, ultimately penalizing the most vulnerable. Uganda is the largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the third largest worldwide. The country hosts slightly over 1.5 million refugees. Energy access issues for refugee populations in Uganda mirror those of the local host communities and though Uganda’s electricity access has reached nearly 60% of the people in urban areas, access rates are still limited to 18% in rural areas. Demand-side interventions can help bridge this access gap and increase the affordability of off-grid solar products. This webinar is a deep dive into the role of end-user subsidies in strengthening solar markets for refugees in Uganda.

The webinar will emphasize dialogue, and a panel of key stakeholders including donors, the private sector, and the government, has been invited to engage in a generative discussion regarding how to meet best the needs for energy access in the refugee setting in Uganda. Using Mercy’s Corps project, Accessing Markets through Private Enterprises for Refugees’ Energy access (AMPERE) as a cornerstone, the webinar will begin with a presentation on the finer design details of their subsidy targeting energy solutions for refugees in Uganda. We then invite each of the other vital panelists to briefly speak about how subsidies are integral to their energy access programs/projects targeting refugees in Uganda. This will be followed by a moderated discussion that will touch upon key challenges, learnings, questions, etc.

Though Uganda may be more atypical to Africa, we feel many key aspects that will be brought forth during this dialogue can be beneficial to consider in refugee camp settings more commonly found in Africa. That said, we will take this opportunity to explore the ways in which Uganda’s experience may not be transferable to other African countries, though may be advantageous beyond Africa.