Energy access sector essential to building back better from Covid-19

At July 15thand 16thARE and GOGLA with the support from GET.invest organised the Energy Access COVID-19 Relief Summit, in partnership with AMDA, ESMAP, GDC, SEforALL and the Clean Cooking Alliance. This event was exclusively online where participants met in 600 matchmaking meeting, organised by GET.invest, a programme supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria.

Speakers at the virtual event highlighted the effects of COVID-19 on companies’ operations and their customers’ lives. In a regularly updated survey, 85% of off-grid consumers say their financial situation got worse. Consumers value energy access so much, they are willing to use savings or in some cases even reduce food expenses to be able to continue using their products.

Businesses have adapted quickly, proving to be remarkably resilient in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. They have not only found innovative ways to serve customers, but also responded to reduced household incomes. However, it is clear the sector and its customers need support in all shapes and sizes. More than half of the sector’s businesses indicated they will need short-term financial relief. Next to immediate financial relief and technical assistance, speakers also called for medium- and long-term initiatives, including new partnerships with governments, commercial investors and neighbouring sectors such as agriculture, education and health, carefully designed demand-side subsidies and result-based financing programmes.