Refugee-Led Energy Organizations Hub

Welcome to the Refugee-Led Energy Organizations (RLEO) Hub, a free resource center for both entrepreneurs living in and serving displacement-affected communities, and ecosystem partners seeking to support these entrepreneurs. The RLEO Hub also provides a space for refugee-led energy businesses and organizations delivering clean energy access in their communities to showcase their impact and share their support needs for continued growth. It aims to provide a space for knowledge exchange and fostering new connections between RLEOs and interested partners.

Empowering displaced people to establish businesses and organizations is crucial to the broader effort to achieve SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy for All in the hardest-to-reach settings. Most refugee settlements are already home to large informal markets, with businesses selling traditional energy sources such as charcoal, firewood, flashlights, batteries, cookstoves, and low-cost electrical appliances. With access to affordable products and adequate support, existing businesses and new entrepreneurs can lead the charge to increase access to sustainable energy solutions for displaced communities.

As refugee entrepreneurs and leaders have a deep understanding of the needs and features of their communities, they are well-positioned to develop holistic solutions and innovative business models grounded in the realities of displacement. Displacement-affected people who take steps to launch clean energy businesses and environmental sustainability initiatives often do so out of a genuine desire to improve the quality of life of their friends and neighbors. As they grow, they create new livelihood opportunities in their communities, both by employing fellow refugees and indirectly by enabling other businesses with reliable energy supply.

Yet RLEOs also face higher barriers to success than peers in the off-grid energy sector, from limited access to finance and partnerships to the highly limited ability to pay of their customers. Refugees also face challenges in navigating local regulatory requirements around establishing a business, and they may face additional restrictions tied to their refugee status. To overcome these barriers and empower RLEOs will require sustained and holistic support from a wide range of partners.

If you are a refugee or internally displaced business owner or a partner working with relevant organizations and enterprise, connect with us at energy@unitar.org.

Refugee-Led Organizations and Businesses

Here you can learn more and connect with refugee-led and community-based organizations and businesses making a difference in their communities!

RLEOs in Ethiopia

Logo	Organization
	Muruqmaal Energy and Electric Cooperative is expanding access to clean energy and new livelihood opportunities by distributing solar home systems and operating solar kiosks in Hilaweyn Refugee Camp.
	Tayo Solar and Photocopy installs solar energy solutions and offers charging and printing services to the community of Awbare Refugee Camp in Ethiopia, creating new livelihood opportunities as a result.

RLEOs in Kenya

Logo	Organization
	Green at Mind seeks to improve the safety, health, and lifestyles of women and youth living in Kakuma and Kalobeyei Refugee Camps in Northern Kenya by expanding access to clean cooking solutions.
	Green Hope Harvest takes a people-first approach to energy access and economic opportunity in Kakuma by developing sustainable energy and agricultural projects that directly respond to community members' identified needs.
	Kakuma Bee (Kakbee) Social Enterprise Limited creates sustainable livelihoods in beekeeping and regenerative agriculture, with solar power playing a crucial role in its production and product storage processes.
	Kakuma Ventures links energy access with connectivity services and professional training resources, helping to stimulate economic opportunities and livelihoods in Kakuma.
	Lift Community-Based Organization uses a sustainable reinvestment model to provide solar irrigation services to farmers in Kakuma Refugee Camp, improving food security and increased agricultural productivity as a result.
	Okapi Green is building on the momentum of growing renewable energy access in the Kakuma Community through trainings to develop a refugee-led solar workforce.
	Rafiki wa Mazingira Ltd (Friend of the Environment) takes a unique approach to promoting clean cooking by producing briquettes made from the invasive Prosopis juliflora plant which threatens the ecosystem in Turkana County, Kenya.

RLEOs in Uganda

Logo	Organization
	Agro Capital Fund (ACF), a community-based organization founded by South Sudanese refugees in Uganda, promotes self-reliance, financial inclusion, and access to clean energy among forcibly displaced people through a variety of loan programs and training activities.
	Bioenergy Umbrella Association of Kyangwali (BUAK) has developed an in-kind loan model to enable the uptake of biodigester and black-soldier fly technology in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and the surrounding host communities, promoting access to clean energy and circular waste management in the community.
	Hodari Foundation leverages solar drying technology to produce a variety of nutrient-dense food products made with oyster mushrooms.
	Live In Green provides refugees in the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in western Uganda with access to clean cooking solutions.
	Nakivale Solar Stoves and Energy Solution Association has developed a holistic model for expanding energy access and managing waste in Nakivale Refugee Settlement by producing improved solar cookers and green charcoal briquettes.
	Women Concern and Ideas (WCI) is building on its initial success in improved cookstove and briquette production by supporting women-led savings groups in the communities of Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement to establish their own operations.
	Youth Empowerment Foundation (YEF) promotes climate-smart agricultural practices and food security in displacement settings by supporting access to solar-powered irrigation systems as well as technical, digital and media training for youth and women.

Add Your Organization to the Hub

Any displaced business owner or organizational founder is welcome to create a profile and/or share information about their work in this section of the hub. A suggested template for preparing a profile can be found here.

The Coordination Unit of the Global Platform for Action (GPA) on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings is happy to provide business owners with basic support in editing and formatting their profiles. If you are interested in receiving this support, please complete the form at this link. Please note that the GPA does not endorse any specific private businesses or organizations, nor does the GPA take any responsibility for the quality and verity of information included in the profiles published on the hub.

Funding Opportunities for RLEOs

Finding reliable sources of funding needed to realize their plans and grow their operations is a major barrier for displaced entrepreneurs. In particular, locally owned organizations providing market-based energy in displacement settings need adequate start-up grant funding, patient impact financing, and tailored technical assistance to develop into healthy and sustainable businesses grounded in community needs. Because they provide services to communities with limited incomes, access to end-user subsidy programmed can also play a crucial role in helping these organizations to bridge the energy access affordability gap.

This section of the hub highlights funding and technical assistance opportunities either targeted to or appropriate for the needs of RLEOs, with new resources being added over time. If you know of a funding or financing resource that should be included, you are welcome to add it or share it with the GPA Coordination Unit at energy@unitar.org.

Resource	Summary
Inkomoko	Inkomoko is an Africa-based impact investor and support organization that partners with entrepreneurs in displaced and host communities — especially women and youth — to provide affordable capital, tailored business advisory, and market access.
Refugee-Led Innovation Fund	The Refugee-Led Innovation Fund (by UNHCR Innovation) supports organizations led by forcibly displaced or stateless people by providing flexible grants, mentoring, technical expertise, and networking to help them design and scale locally driven innovations.

Knowledge Resources

The below resources aim to provide practical insights to support RLBs and RLOs and all stakeholders working to support their sustained operations and growth. Share resources you think should be included by adding them directly or sharing with the GPA Coordination Unit at energy@unitar.org.

Resource Title	Resource Type	Summary
A Guide to Scaling Solutions, for Funders and the Humanitarian Sector	Report	Ashden's briefing highlights the importance of refugee-led businesses in achieving SDG 7 in displaced communities, providing examples of real-life business successes. The guide identifies the key challenges that RLBs face when developing and scaling their businesses. It offers practical recommendations for funders and partners on how to address barriers and support these businesses on their growth journey.
Empowering Refugee-Led Energy Enterprises for a Sustainable Future: Insights from HEC 2024	Blog post	Read the blog summarizing the lessons learned during the "Community-Led Energy: Investing in Local and Refugee-Led Energy Enterprises" session at the 2024 Humanitarian Energy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya hosted by the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings. The session saw representative of eight RLEOs present their business activities and needs to the wider humanitarian energy stakeholder community.
Community-Led Energy: Investing in Local and Refugee-Led Enterprises	Video	Watch the recording of the "Community-Led Energy: Investing in Local and Refugee-Led Energy Enterprises" session hosted at the 2024 Humanitarian Energy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The discussion brought together participants including humanitarian agencies, donor representatives, private sector partners, experts with lived experience of displacement, and energy sector association representatives to discuss the potential of locally and refugee-led businesses to transform energy access from within the displacement contexts where they live, as well as the barriers to their success.
Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access	Programme	Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access (THEA) is a multi-year program supporting the shift toward more sustainable and inclusive energy delivery models in humanitarian and displacement settings. This includes a commitment to work with and support RLBs. THEA is implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Ashden and the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA). The programme is funded by the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) via the Transforming Energy Access platform and managed by the Carbon Trust.