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According to the World Bank, 58% of Uganda’s population lacks access to electricity. This is the equivalent of 26.5 Million people or the entire population of both the Netherlands and Switzerland combined. People in off-grid communities use technologies like candles, and kerosene lamps for lighting while three stone cookstoves are used for cooking. Because of this, over 40,000 Ugandans die as a result of indoor pollution. Additionally, Uganda loses 49.2kha of forest cover due to the over-reliance on firewood which is used as a fuel for cooking, equivalent to 23.5Mt of CO₂ emissions. The lack of access to clean energy technologies for lighting means children cannot read at night, people spend a lot more on their traditional lighting technologies.

The challenge is not the lack of clean energy technologies, given there are high-quality, low-cost clean energy technologies in the market, but a need for supply chains and delivery channels that can sustainably deliver clean energy technologies for everyone including low-income earners in hard to reach off-grid communities and off-grid communities that are considered less profitable.

Our approach leverages the existence of grassroots organizations like Community-based Organizations (CBOs) and Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to deliver clean energy technologies in off-grid communities. 

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Our Refugees Entrepreneur story

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Uganda currently hosts more than 1.25 million refugees, most of whom rely on natural resources in and around refugee settlements for domestic fuel, construction, and livelihoods. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), each individual in the refugee community is estimated to consume up to 1.6 kg of firewood per day, compared with host community members who consume up to 2.1 kg per day. This strains the availability of natural resources like wood, grass, water, and other resources in refugee-hosting districts. Access to improved cookstoves and alternative cooking fuels for refugees and host communities can minimize the amount of fuel used to cook and reduce the risk of conflict over these resources.

ENVenture operates an Energy cooperatives model that brings together refugee entrepreneurs to run and manage clean energy kiosks in refugee settlements that serve both refugees and host communities with the aim of increasing access to renewable energy and energy-efficient products and services.