Making Markets Work – Session 1

Making Markets Work | Models for Private Sector Engagement in Humanitarian Energy

Session 1: Private sector engagement in humanitarian energy 101: ‘The need, the obstacles, and the opportunity’

Facilitator

Gaurav Gupta, Partner & Asia Regional Director, Dalberg Advisors Gaurav is a Partner and Founder-Director of Dalberg Advisors in Asia. Gaurav works with global development institutions, Governments, Corporations and Civil society on their efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. He globally heads Dalberg’s Impact Measurement and Climate & Energy practice, serving clients in the areas of education, financial services, access to energy and environment and gender empowerment. Prior to Dalberg, Gaurav was at The Boston Consulting Group in Sydney and London. Outside of Dalberg, Gaurav sits on the Board of Educate Girls and is an angel investor in social enterprises. He holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford and an MA in International and Development Economics from Yale University. He also attended the United World College of Hong Kong as a Fairfax Scholar. Individual’s experience in the humanitarian/energy sector: Gaurav is an industry expert with 18 years of experience of which 12 years has been in renewables and the off-grid energy space. Leads the energy practice globally for Dalberg which includes working in clean lighting, rural electrification, clean cooking, financing of solar home systems, financing of rooftop solar, development of decentralized utilities, and promoting private sector interventions in base-of-pyramid markets globally. Organization’s experience in the humanitarian/energy sector: Recently Dalberg was commissioned by a Fortune 100 oil and gas company to produce a report that presents actionable insights and analysis on potential solutions to improve energy access to displaced persons.

Panelists

		Eva Hatzidemou, Head of Enter Energy, Shell Eva is the Head of the Enter Energy program at Shell. At Shell, Eva is responsible for leading the development of sustainable access to energy solutions for displacement settings, in collaboration with humanitarian and private sector actors. Prior to Enter Energy, Eva worked in Shell’s Downstream division, where she held numerous commercial and leadership roles in Shell’s customer facing businesses across multiple B2B sectors. Eva brings energy sector expertise in the areas of business development, deal making, strategic marketing, and customer value proposition development. About Enter Energy Enter Energy is Shell’s global social initiative to develop sustainable models of energy access in displacement settings. The initiative is part of Shell’s contribution to SDG7, providing clean energy to refugees and internally displaced people. Current Enter Energy projects are focused on developing and testing concepts in Ethiopia and Mozambique in collaboration with Mercy Corps and IOM, respectively. In parallel, Enter Energy continues to support initiatives to reduce market-entry barriers for private sector actors in the areas of data, skills and finance.
		Efrem Ferrari, Consultant, IFC Efrem is a consultant working at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group. Over the past 4 years, Efrem worked on the Lighting Pakistan & Afghanistan project, an initiative promoting a commercial market for sustainable, accessible and clean off-grid energy lighting products in rural communities in the two countries. In Afghanistan, Efrem led an assessment of the off-grid energy market and provided business development support to private sector firms interested in entering the sector. He also helped designing and implementing consumer awareness campaigns to advocate the use of quality certified products in both countries. Individual’s experience in the humanitarian/energy sector: Efrem led an Energy Access Assessment in Lebanon, targeting Syrian refugees and the host community. The assessment helped shedding the lights on the appetite for solar energy, especially among Syrian and the main barriers that persists to for a wider private sector involvement. Organization’s experience in the humanitarian/energy sector: Lighting Global is the World Bank Group’s initiative to rapidly increase access to off-grid solar energy for the 789 million people living without electricity world-wide. Lighting Global – managed by IFC and the World Bank, with support from the Energy Sector Management Assistant Program (ESMAP) – works with manufacturers, distributors, governments, and other development partners to build and grow the modern off-grid solar energy market. Our programs are funded with support from ESMAP, the Public – Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land, and Sea (IMELS), and the IKEA Foundation.
		Cecilia Ragazzi, Senior Advisor Access to Energy Lead, Mercy Corps Cecilia is a Senior Advisor and Access to Energy Lead at Mercy Corps and provides technical assistance on community energy services, private sector partnerships and innovative financing solutions to teams working on Energy Access across Mercy Corps. Prior to joining her current role at Mercy Corps, she project managed a multi-country EU-funded program that focused on women’s economic development through renewable energy - reaching 4,650 small-medium enterprises and 21,000 women. Individual’s experience in the humanitarian/energy sector: Having lived and worked in 20 countries, Cecilia has more than 12-years experience in humanitarian and development contexts, with a focus on social inclusion (energy, financial services, and protection). Cecilia is passionate about the catalytic potential that access to energy offers in terms of increased well-being and she believes in the scaling power of partnerships with the private sector to offer quality products and services. At Mercy Corps, she provides technical support to design and deliver highly impactful programs and is active in the global humanitarian energy community of practice. Organization’s experience in the humanitarian/energy sector: Mercy Corps’ Energy Access portfolio spans over 15 countries, providing clean, affordable and reliable access to energy to the world's most vulnerable communities. Our approach to energy access is rooted in innovative, market-based programming that supports resilient livelihoods. Projects range from last-mile distribution of certified solar and clean cooking products, to energy efficiency, rural electrification, and grid scale productive power projects.