Lighting Africa Newsletter August 2009

LIGHTING AFRICA NEWSLETTER

August 2009

The Lighting Africa newsletter is a briefing on the latest developments in the program. It is provided to all organizations and individual members participating in the Lighting Africa consortium. For comments, questions, or suggestions, please contact the Lighting Africa Program Team at support@lightingafrica.org
 

Putting quality first: Lighting Africa Outstanding Products Awards 2010 has been launched
Lighting Africa has now launched the first edition of its Outstanding Products Awards. The Awards are to recognize outstanding off-grid lighting products available in the DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal or Tanzania. Entering products will be evaluated on the basis of performance, design and affordability. The awards winners will be acknowledged at the Lighting Africa Conference 2010 scheduled in Nairobi, Kenya.  Learn more

Lighting Africa’s National Advisory Committees (LANAC) set up in Ghana and Kenya
Lighting Africa has established two national Advisory Committees comprised of seasoned off-grid lighting specialists to advise the program in the development of the off-grid market in Ghana and Kenya. As a non-management think-tank team, LANAC’s institutional knowledge and experience will be of great assistance in providing program staff with fresh perspectives on various programmatic and strategic issues leading to the achievement of more effective and sustainable results and outcomes. It is anticipated that LANAC members will offer their perspectives on a wide range of issues such as: making introductions within the industry, highlighting sources of financing, consumer protection, targeting niche markets and forming partnerships with appropriate market leaders and donors. The inaugural meetings of LANAC in both countries provided a consensus on the Committees’ roles, responsibilities and expected results. They were held respectively on 6th August 2009 (Ghana) and 26 August 2009 (Kenya). LANAC is comprised of stakeholders, experts and partners in the renewable energy sector in Kenya and Ghana

The talk of town: Lighting Africa discussed by Africa Electrification Initiative partners   
Lighting Africa was featured during an Africa Electrification Initiative (AEI) workshop held last June in Maputo, Mozambique. At the workshop, a new clean development mechanism (CDM) methodology for off-grid lighting was presented that could be of benefit to the off-grid lighting industry. The AEI aims to create an active network of practitioners involved in the hands-on design and implementation of rural, peri-urban and urban on-grid and off-grid electrification programs in Africa. It is co-sponsored by the Forum of the Energy Ministers of Africa (FEMA), GTZ and the World Bank. Read more.

Lighting Africa and the Ghana solar industry team up on taxation issues
Lighting Africa participated in a workshop hosted by the Association of Ghana’ Solar Industry Stakeholders (AGSI) on 18th August 2009 in Accra, Ghana. At the end of the workshop, a Committee was set up to review taxation, incentives for local manufacturers and other challenges faced by the solar industry. The Committee is expected to come up with a proposal on the way forward in order to advise the Ghana Government accordingly. IFC, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other international institutions were invited to provide their perspectives on the issues at hand. In attendance were members of AGSI, Ghana governments Officials, key parliamentarians in charge of energy policies, Representatives from the Ministry of Energy, delegates from the Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) as well as other technical and policy organizations. Read more about AGSI.

Lighting Africa’s development marketplace model inspires the Tanzanian Government
The Rural Energy Agency (REA) of Tanzania is in the process of designing its national Lighting Africa development marketplace competition. That competition is expected to spur the large-scale introduction of affordable, clean and efficient off-grid lighting products in the country.  The REA’s "Lighting Tanzania" competition is modeled after the Lighting Africa Development Marketplace competition organized in Ghana in May 2008. Details of the Tanzania competition coming soon.

It’s official! World Bank and IFC’s Lighting Africa program endorsed by key partners in Kenya
Lighting Africa received the full endorsement of key local and international industry players to promote an expanded market for alternative, off-grid lighting products for millions of people living without access to electricity in Africa. The endorsement came during a workshop on quality assurance for off-grid lighting held in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop gathered inputs from key market stakeholders in order to define a consensual strategy that will promote new quality standards on lighting products.
Read more

Need help in choosing a good torch? – Technical tips by a Lighting Africa expert
Arne Jacobson, Quality Assurance Expert for Lighting Africa, offers his perspective on the comparative advantage of choosing between: an ordinary torch, a new-type high efficiency Light Emitting Diode (LED) torch or a more expensive solar-powered torch.  His analysis draws from his studies in the Yala District, in Nyanza Province of Kenya and deals with the initial cost of buying a torch, the cost of operating it and ways that the economics can change with different levels of use. Read more

Lighting Africa’s market on the move: Brazafric and D.lighit sign a distribution agreement
As of June 2009, Brazafric Enterprises Ltd will represent D.light Design in Kenya. Under the agreement, Brazafric will be distributing D.Light products in Kenya, Ethiopia and Rwanda. This latest agreement brings to three the number of new partnerships sealed in the past year between international manufacturers and local distributors of off-grid lighting products in Kenya.

Lighting Africa in partnership with: The UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Good Energies, Inc., Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) and the Asia Sustainable and Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE)