Hosted by Hivos since 2016, ENERGIA contributes to universal, equal and equitable access to and control over sustainable energy for all, putting women at the center of its efforts.

Why ENERGIA focuses on women

Women and men’s energy needs and uses differ, as do their levels of access to it. Even where infrastructure is physically available, the poor and women often lack the means, information, or training needed to access energy. Moreover, institutional structures often benefit men, who often are the decision-makers regarding energy products and services that are mostly used by women, such as for cooking. Worldwide, roughly 759 million people still live without access to electricity and 2.6 billion still cook on traditional stoves that cause indoor air pollution and kill close to 4 million —mostly women and girls— each year. At the intersection of gender equality and clean energy access, women cannot be held back.

How ENERGIA achieves its vision

To achieve its vision, ENERGIA implements several multi-year programs that:

  • contribute to energy access for all by scaling up the delivery of energy services through women-led micro and small businesses
  • advocate for and provide technical support to mainstreaming gender approaches in energy policies and programs
  • provide the evidence base for improving energy investment effectiveness through research
  • raise awareness and enhance knowledge of issues related to gender and energy through networking and knowledge products

Where

Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania.

Selection of results

  • By the end of 2022, the program supported more than 9,100 resilient renewable energy businesses run by women entrepreneurs in Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania.
  • 3,600 women entrepreneurs gained access to SEK 17 million of credit mobilized from financial institutions.
  • Over 4.5 million consumers in last mile communities were reached with energy enabled services and products.

ENERGIA’s advocacy and lobby activities fostered gender equality in the energy sector and ensured that women’s voices were heard in energy policy discussions and intergovernmental negotiations, resulting in:

  • 176 partnerships formed with civil society organizations, government agencies, private sector actors and research institutions
  • 37 (sub)national strategies/policies contributed to an enabling. environment for gender and energy
  • 21 gender action plans implemented by energy organizations
  • 116 Gender commitments from international organizations to SDG 7

Period and budget

2018-2022, SEK 134.7 million

Partners

30+ partners worldwide, including NGOs, research institutes, social enterprises, networks and government organizations.

Donors

47% Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

53%: Co-funding from other donors (the Asian Development Bank, DGIS, FCDO, UNEP, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, African Development Bank, EnDev, MECS, Hivos, UK PACT, RVO, GIZ, UNIDO)