Greetings and Happy New Year, 2023!
As I take time to reflect on the year 2022, I think of our Foundation, our funders, our partners, policy makers, our staff and the country folks that we serve and have such fond memories of it. From the road trips in rural Maasai villages to enjoying cold drinks at a local bar which is powered by our solar Minigrid or riding Ekoglobe’s electric 3-wheeler in the streets of Dar es Salaam. I truly enjoy working for the leading organization in the renewable energy space called Energy and Livelihoods for Communities (ELICO) Foundation!
In July 2022, ELICO celebrated three years of working with small holder farmers and entrepreneurs to help them expand energy access and services while improving their livelihoods. And we marked our birthday by launching Energizing Local Economies | ELICO’s Monthly Newsletter! which providesamazing renewable energy news with links to reports, funding opportunities, articles and videos etc
The year 2022, has been a great success for ELICO through the partnership that we have. Together we have been able to continue establishing people-centred decentralized renewable energy systems and services not for its own sake, but for the livelihood improvement and benefits it brings. We want to expand opportunities to earn a better living. We want to improve the quality of life for the marginalized communities. We want to contribute to better health services, education, sports and other public services. In other words, it’s all about socio-economic development of rural Africa.
As a team, we are very proud of the impact we have had over the past three years. We have equipped and trained more than 248 farmers and entrepreneurs, we have provided solar power to the rural health facilities serving over 18,144 patients in Arusha, Iringa and Dodoma regions. Our solutions, advice, trainings and other services have helped to deliver energy access and energy well-being to over 19,925 people in Tanzania, creating over 288 jobs in the process.
But we did not celebrate our third birthday by only looking backwards. In the course of last year, we have also substantially evolved our project portfolio. Some have come to a conclusion, and others have started up. For example, Adoption of Multi-Functional 2 and 3-Wheeled Electric Vehicles in Dar es Salaam, transitioned to an independent entity, with its own registration. And another trailblazing project known as Solar Power for Rural Health Facilities in Tanzania, initially funded by CS Mott Foundation and later by Shine Campaign, completed its third year, having helped over 18,144 people.
Meanwhile, new projects started last year include: In Depth Exploration of Cooking Entirely with Electricity, a participants centred research experiment supporting transition to clean cooking, the first phase of Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) and anew initiative on exploring viable circular economy opportunities to create more green and equitable jobs within the waste management value chain. It has been an extremely demanding period for our team.
All these progresses could not have been achieved without the support, steadfast loyalty and commitment of our funders, our partners, policy makers, our staff and the people that we serve. To all of them and to our Advisory Board, I offer my recognition, respect and thanks.
Looking forward, we remain committed to our target of delivering energy access and energy well-being for over 200000 people by 2025, even though the developments in our external market environment are not uniformly favourable. On one hand, we see increasing institutional interest in, and hence increased funding flows into, the clean cooking sector, climate smart agriculture, electric mobility and off-grid energy sector. And on the other hand, we know these flows are concentrated in few countries, institutions, product categories and markets.
Despite these challenges, we remain optimistic for two reasons; First, the awful and unnecessary injustice brought by environmental pollution, climate change and energy poverty will continue to accelerate donor support for the East Africa region. Second these markets will be sustained because at the community and household level, energy well-being and access to modern energy solutions make more economic sense.
As we bade farewell to this fantastic year, we believe that the new one holds successes and many opportunities for renewable energy sector. Our team is committed to push forward our work with new ideas, improvements and a dedication to ensuring that we tap all the existing potentials for the growth of the people that we work with, our country, our partners, and our organization.
Once again, on behalf of everyone at ELICO Foundation, I am taking this opportunity to thank you all and wish you, your team and your loved ones a successful and joyous year ahead.
Yours faithfully,
…………………………
Sisty BasilExecutive Director – ELICO Foundation
