In furtherance with the goal to power Africa, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Sahara Group have unveiled the Africa Renewable Energy Forum to boost access to sustainable energy for 10 million households on the continent through alternative energy initiatives and interventions.
The forum, launched at the margins of the ongoing 74th UN General Assembly in New York, would address issues critical to power and energy as the ongoing partnership between UNDP and the Sahara Group aims to create access to clean and affordable energy in Africa.
According to both organisations, the forum would serve as a platform for policy discussions, multi-stakeholder collaboration and funding towards the implementation of tailored renewable energy solutions across the continent. Ultimately, the platform will galvanise the political momentum needed to record significant progress through strong partnerships, effective regulation and mutual accountability, they said in an emailed statement Tuesday.
“Access to energy will enhance the cause of poverty alleviation and also yield huge benefits for education, healthcare, production, and socio-economic development,” Ahunna Eziakonwa, Regional Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa said.
“The UNDP-Sahara partnership is extremely crucial as it will provide a model for engaging a wide-range of stakeholders to address the continent’s energy challenge in line with the SDG framework.”
Africa has the highest percentage of untapped hydropower potential in the world, with only 11% utilization capacity. Whilst the global electrification rate reached 89% in 2018 and 153m people gained access to electricity, according to World Bank figures, the biggest challenge remains in the most remote areas globally and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, where an estimated 573m people are not connected to grid power.
Overall, with over 6oo million Africans having no access to electricity, Ahunna explained that the continent urgently needed to embrace renewable energy sources to sustainably connect the poorest and hardest to reach households.
Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, said the initiative had the potential to create over one million jobs in Africa as the continent continues its march towards achieving the 2030 SDG Agenda.
According to him, renewable energy is still in its infancy as far as Africa is concerned and there is the need for unrelenting awareness initiatives to inspire a mindset shift to renewable energy in Africa with the various governments, private sector and development agencies leading the charge.
“At Sahara Group we believe that interventions like the UNDP-Sahara partnership will enhance productivity and shared prosperity in Africa,” Adesina said.
The event had senior officials from both organisations in attendance, including, Ahunna Eziakonwa, Regional Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Pearl Uzokwe, Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, Head Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, and Babatomiwa Adesida, Private Sector Engagement Specialist, Sahara Foundation.
