wPOWER Newsletter: September 2017

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FROM THE wPOWER HUB DESK:

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wPOWER ANNUAL PARTNER GATHERING: COLLABORATION FOR IMPACT JOIN US ON DECEMBER 6th, 2017 IN NAIROBI, KENYA Mark your calendars: The 'Collaborating for Impact' event is a signature gathering of wPOWER global partners and stakeholders to celebrate shared experiences and insights on our collective work in promoting the central role of women in achieving SDG 7. This event comes at a time, when there is greater emphasis and recognition on designing gender-sensitive programs across the energy supply chain. wPOWER’s three strategic priorities on building evidence, sharing best practices, and advocacy will underpin the conversation for this event. Participation is by invite only.

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PARTNER HIGHLIGHTS

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Women’s Earth Alliance ( WEA ) Based in California, Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA) has implemented over 100 women’s environmental and entrepreneurship projects in eighteen countries – training, funding, and catalyzing 5,000 women to advance safe water, clean energy, regenerative farming, women’s land rights, and more.  Read more... Sollatek Electronics Kenya Ltd. (SEKL) Sollatek Electronics Kenya  Ltd (SEKL) provides clean and reliable on and off grid energy solutions, on grid division supplies and installs voltage protection range including voltage switchers, stabilizers, and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).  Read more...

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IN THE NEWS

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Female entrepreneurship and growing opportunity in Africa Only 17 percent of American startups have female founders. But, halfway across the globe in tech hubs like Lagos, Nigeria, and Nairobi, Kenya, 46 percent of African ventures have a female founder and prospects for closing the gender gap there are high. International investors looking to realize outsized returns and social impact would be well-served to look to the female entrepreneurs driving Africa's venture growth Read more ...

Solar lighting in remote rural areas: Oversold or truly illuminating? An estimated 1.2 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity, and most resort to kerosene as their primary lighting source. It has been widely asserted that replacing kerosene lamps with solar lighting could offer relief from kerosene’s toxic smoke and high prices; provide better-quality and more hours of nighttime light; and enhance safety . Read more...

Young leaders issue a call for action to African rural electrification agencie s Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), together with its partners in the Energy Access W ork Stream of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership (AEEP EA WS), organised a training session for African Rural Electrification Agencies grouped under the CLUB ER. The training addressed rural electrification policy approaches and a deep dive into mini-grid tariffs and business case viability. wPOWER participated in the event. Read more ...

Clean cookstove market needs 'wholesale reappraisal' — Rachel Kyte The amount of funding going into clean cookstoves in countries where the energy access gap is most pronounced “is not even in the same ballpark” of what is required, according to sustainable energy expert Rachel Kyte, CEO of SEforALL   who said the sector needs a “wholesale reassessment.” Read more...

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BLOGS

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Clean cooking push suffers from "shocking" lack of funding Funding to boost the numbers of people with access to electric power and clean cooking is too low to meet the global goal for everyone to have modern, reliable and affordable energy by 2030. Just over 3 billion people still use traditional, solid fuels like firewood and dung to cook, the latest data shows. Read more...

How indoor air pollution is leading to stunted growth in India’s children The conversation on air quality has been focused largely on outdoor air pollution. Evidence for Policy Design conducted an analysis of 2005-2006 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) data in India and found strong evidence that the exposure to indoor air pollution from burning solid fuels increases the probability of stunting in Indian children . Read more...

Light and Hope for Puerto Rico: A Citizen Campaign Hurricane Maria caused severe devastation in Puerto Rico, decimating buildings and crippling power systems. Our partner, Solar Sister  is providing technical guidance and outreach support for ensuring that quality solar solutions reach the Puerto Ricans in need. Read more..

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LATEST PUBLICATIONS

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Turning on the Lights: Transcending Energy Poverty Through the Power of  Women Entrepreneurs

Energizing Finance: Scaling and Refining Finance in Countries with Large Energy Access Gaps

Taking the Pulse: Understanding Energy Access Market Needs in Five High-Impact Countries

Study finds advanced biomass cookstoves can significantly reduce black carbon emissions

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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

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Events SOCAP 2017: October 10-13 WHO Global Conference on Noncommunicable Diseases: October 18-20 Clean Cooking Forum 2017 : October 24 -26 Unlocking Solar Capital: October 25 - 26 The 2017 Future Energy Industry Nigeria Awards: November 7 - 8 Safe Access to Fuel and Energy (SAFE) Humanitarian Workshop: November 28 - December 1 wPOWER Annual Partner Gathering: December 6 Opportunities Request for Expression of Interest: Gender and Energy Consultant-Ethiopia Energy Program of the World Bank. Visionaria Network is now accepting applications for the Empowered Entrepreneur Training Fund (EETF). Deadline, October 12. Funding alert for Women-led Sustainable Energy Enterprises in West Africa, Investment of up to US$50 million. Deadline, November 20.

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Do you want to contribute to our next edition or write an article?  Contact our communications team at  [email protected] .  You can also send us suggestions of news, events, and updates for the newsletter.

About the Partnership on Women's Entrepreneurship in Renewables (wPOWER) Partnership on Women's Entrepreneurship in Renewables (wPOWER) was established by the U.S Department of State in January 2013. wPOWER is promoting the central role of women in clean energy entrepreneurship, and in addressing climate change. Connect with us: www.wpowerhub.org [email protected]