Foundation plan for establishing a gender-just energy cooperative in Ethiopia and Uganda
Access to clean electricity and cooking technologies remains a key challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, as it is often difficult to reach remote populations with a centralized power grid. The necessary transformation of the energy system requires the expansion of decentralized and equitable systems that put citizens* at the center and address problems in the conventional energy sector. Energy cooperatives are a possible solution to the existing challenges and offer economic, social and environmental benefits.
As part of the Green Citizen Energy for Africa program of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), we have partnered with Action for Rural Women’s Development – ARUWE (Uganda) and the Oromia Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union – OCFCU (Ethiopia) to share knowledge and experience and promote the development of energy cooperatives. The activities of the alliance have resulted in this start-up plan, which summarizes information on ideas, processes, and methods for establishing energy cooperatives in Uganda and Ethiopia. The publication is based on Germany’s extensive and successful experience with citizen energy, which has become the backbone of the energy transition, and on the extensive cooperative tradition in Uganda and Ethiopia, where agricultural cooperatives play a key role in the local economy.
Supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
