Women Entrepreneurs as Key Drivers in the DRE Sector: Best Practices & Innovative Business Models

14.00 – 15.40 CEST

Energy and gender equality are key drivers for development and economic growth. The economic empowerment of women is one of the four pillars of the EU Gender Action Plan, explicitly stated as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-5) and intrinsically linked to most of the other SDGs.

Women empowerment and entrepreneurship are important sources of growth, prosperity and poverty reduction with positive impacts on families and children, health and nutrition, communities and the national economy at large.

At the intersection of gender equality, clean energy access and sustainable economic development, it is fundamental that women are supported and encouraged to engage in all stages of the decentralised renewable energy (DRE) space: at customer, company and investor levels and that the contributions of women to the energy access sector are recognised. As such, the socio-economic empowerment of women should be strongly encouraged and facilitated to foster gender balance in the sector and unlock its benefits for the long-term sustainable development of rural communities in developing countries.

This webinar aims to share best practices from innovative entrepreneurs embedding gender in their business models, as well as to spur discussion on best practices to promote gender equality in the DRE sector.

The webinar is organised by ARE and supported by GET.invest, a European programme which mobilises investments in decentralised renewable energy, supported by the European Union, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria.

The webinar will feature:

High-level opening remarks
Presentations from entrepreneurs embedding gender equality and women empowerment in their business models
Panel discussion and sharing of lessons learnt to promote gender equality in the DRE sector from past and ongoing programmes
Q&A with the audience

Programme

14.00 – 14.10	Opening remarks David Lecoque, CEO, ARE
14.10 – 14.20	Keynote speech Georgios Grapsas, Team Leader in Sustainable Energy, European Commission, DG DEVCO, Unit Sustainable Energy & Climate Change
14.20 – 15.00	Session I - “Innovative entrepreneurial approaches to promote gender equality in DRE projects” Objective: Showcasing examples from entrepreneurs embedding gender equality and women empowerment in their business models in specific DRE projects. Moderator: Rebecca Symington, Board Member, ARE Presenters: Sandra Winarsa, Program Development Manager Green Energy - Hivos Southeast Asia Bubacar Diallo, CEO, Benoo Hélène Demaegdt, Managing Partner, Gaia Impact Fund Q&A with the audience
15.00 – 15.40	Session II - “Promoting gender equality in DRE programmes - challenges and lessons learnt” Objective: Discussing lessons learnt from past and ongoing DRE sector programmes to promote gender equality. Moderator: Irene Calvé Saborit, Board Member, ARE Presenters: Rana Ghoneim, Chief, Energy systems and Infrastructure Division, UNIDO Remco van Stappershoef, Manager Women Economic Empowerment, ENERGIA Marta Caradonna, Coordinator - Microgrid Academy, RES4Africa Foundation Tracy Kimathi, Founder, Tree_sea.mals Q&A with the audience