News facts
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo are working together to develop climate-friendly energy with women in the forefront. One key aspect of the collaboration is working with women entrepreneurs to develop commercially viable energy projects and to provide coaching on technical and financial skills needed to be competitive as energy producers and suppliers.
“Women are serving as key agents of change for sustainable energy, as consumers, producers, intermediaries, researchers and influencers of the sustainable energy future”, says Monica Maduekwe of the Economic Community of West African States Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE).
In response to a request from West African officials, the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) is partnering with the ECREEE, the Private Financing Advisory Network (co-hosted by UNIDO and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership) and Partners for Innovation to provide capacity building, investment promotion and business development in the region. As part of this project, four selected West African entrepreneurs are participating in the Global Investment Forum in Vienna on May 16th, where they will present their energy initiatives before a panel of potential investors.