Workshop on new business opportunities in West Africa’s evolving energy sector

On April 13, 2018, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) is organising a regional workshop to present the findings from the Pre-feasibility Study on Business Opportunities for Women in a Changing Energy Value Chain in West Africa. The workshop will take place at the African Development Bank Group headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The regional workshop and the study are part of a larger project, which seek to develop a pipeline of investment-ready, women-owned energy businesses across the West African region.

The project, entitled ‘Feasibility Study on Business Opportunities for Women in a Changing Energy Value Chain in West Africa’, is funded by the Bank through the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Infrastructure Project Preparatory Facility (IPPF) Special Fund, which assists African countries in the preparation of regional infrastructure projects in energy, transport, information, communication and technology (ICT), and transboundary water.

As an energy sector project, the ‘Feasibility Study will produce a high quality gender responsive, regional energy market development strategy that taps into the innate entrepreneurial capacity of women. Specifically, the project will produce four country-focused feasibility studies of energy businesses that make the most of the global megatrends shaping the new energy system, namely: technological breakthroughs, climate change & resource scarcity, demographic and social change, economic growth and rapid urbanization.

Covering four West African countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal), it is envisaged that this project will contribute to the ongoing energy transition in West Africa by promoting an energy system that facilitates decarbonisation, decentralization and digitalization.

The workshop will bring together key international, regional and national stakeholders. These will include: multi-lateral agencies, development partners, financial institutions, relevant ECOWAS institutions, ministries, departments and agencies, project developers, entrepreneurs, civil society organizations, private sector and other relevant stakeholders.

The event will feature presentation of: field interviews and secondary research on entrepreneurial ecosystem in West Africa, with a focus on women entrepreneurs; the key challenges women-led businesses face and the recommendations to address these challenges; the four projects selected for the next phase of the project, i.e. development of bankable feasibility studies, among others. The bidding process for the feasibility studies will be launched shortly after the workshop. Video conferencing facilities will be available for external participants.