Webinar: COVID-19 and its effect on the African off-grid solar industry
Power for All’s Chief Campaign Officer William Brent joined a webinar organized by Energise Africa with representatives from Ashden, Azuri Technologies, and Redavia Solar to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the off-grid solar market in Africa and how the sector can overcome these challenges to increase its resilience.
Webinar: Utilities 2.0: Better Services, Better Connections
Utilities across countries with low energy access face a number of challenges in delivering on the mandates of affordable, reliable energy for all. In recent years, new distribution models that combine traditional utility models with the learnings from over a decade of decentralized energy technology rollout have emerged, ushering in a new era for utilities: Utilities 2.0. Integrated energy approaches draw the strengths of both centralized and decentralized pathways into innovative business models for faster, lower cost, and more reliable service delivery. Sponsored by the Applied Research Programme on Energy for Economic Growth (EEG), Power for All jointly organized a webinar with Umeme Ltd, Konexa, Rocky Mountain Institute, and Duke University, Utilities 2.0: Better Services, Better Connections - Lessons from Uganda and Nigeria, to engage directly with researchers and utility experts working in two case study countries: Nigeria and Uganda and learn lessons from the field.
New Team Members
Power for All is excited to welcome two new members to our team. Brian Kawuma joins the campaign to lead our Powering Agriculture campaign in Uganda where he will mobilize stakeholders within the country and will be responsible for recruiting and organizing a coalition of partners and allies, achieving clear policy outcomes, and driving a strong campaign narrative through media engagement. Brian has 12 years’ experience in Strategic Communications working with government, private sector, civil society, and development partners. He is passionate about stakeholder engagement, relationship management, public relations, and communication for development. Brian holds a bachelor of science degree in Computer Science and Statistics from Makerere University, and a master’s degree specializing in Journalism and Communication from Makerere University. In his pastime, Brian reads, travels, and keeps fit at the gym or by taking a good run.
Zoe Byl joins us as Grants and Operations Manager. In her role, Zoe is responsible for the financial and administrative support to the Power for All team, as well as the organization’s leadership in day-to-day grants management and operations, such as ensuring compliance with the terms of grants, research for new grant opportunities and overall team operational needs. Zoe has a passion for international development and women’s empowerment. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Development from UCLA and a Master’s degree in International Development from the University of Amsterdam. For her Master’s thesis, she carried out qualitative research on sex education and women’s aspirations in rural Ghana, which can be found on http://www.her-choice.org/en/research/. She also had the opportunity to do a Business Development fellowship with (RED), which has given her a particular interest in strategic partnerships in the world of development. Due to her roots in competitive gymnastics, she Zoe exercising and has recently become an avid runner. She also loves making homemade meals with her mom and has taken up the art of sourdough bread baking.