A woman wearing a blue patterned dress walks through a green agricultural field holding a chicken and some papers. Another woman in a blue and turquoise outfit walks away in the background. The sky is overcast, and trees are visible in the distance.

Renouveau FJ Marks Key Milestones in Women and Youth Renewable Energy Project

6 May 2025

Renouveau FJ aims to increase the participation of women and youth in renewable energy value chains (REVCs) to support the transition to clean energy in Senegal. This transition has been slow to materialise, despite the growing availability of technological solutions and a downward trend in costs.

The research investigates the systemic barriers that women and youth face—as suppliers and promoters—in accessing business opportunities and solutions within clean energy value chains, as well as in promoting energy innovations.

The project recently marked a significant milestone, producing results from the initial phases of supply mapping and demand diagnosis.

 Results:

Barriers include;

  • Limited access to funding and information
  • High cost of technologies.
  • A lack of necessary training .

 Next steps:

  • Capacity building for 300 women (with the completion of a randomized controlled trial).
  • Collaboration with financial institutions and government.

 Recommendations:

  • Financial support via community groups.
  • Provider information.
  • Adapted financial products.
  • Guarantee fund to reduce interest rates.
  • Training in financial literacy and climate resilience.

To Learn more about this project, watch the video Renewable Energy Mobilisation: Women and Youth in Senegal  and hear from project lead and HEC Montréal’s Director of Sustainability Transition,  Luciano Barin Cruz, as he shares an insightful overview of the project.

Webinar – Transformative capital: The role of blended finance in shaping the trajectories of gender- and climate focused impact funds in Sub-Saharan Africa

Tuesday 3 March 2026

We are pleased to share the following event, which is being run by the CEDCA project Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility) Learning Hub, a collaboration between the Convergence and Climate Policy Initiative. The virtual event will take place on Tuesday 3 March 2026 from 13:00-14:00PM GMT (8:00AM-9:00AM EST). Full details available here. How can […]

Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition

3 December 2025

This report highlights outcomes and recommendations from the T20 Side Event ‘Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition’, held in Johannesburg on 17 October 2025. It presents seven recommendations for concrete steps to turn the G20’s green energy principles into practice, with South Africa’s presidency positioned as […]

Credit: Nadia Bseiso

A photo of a woman smiling at the camera, standing outside a reservoir. In the background there are green trees.
Fostering an inclusive energy transition through micro, small and medium-sized enterprises

7 January 2026

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are the main engine of economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The transition to a green economy represents both an environmental necessity and a significant economic opportunity for the region. However, without an intentional focus on gender, this transformation risks reinforcing existing inequalities, rather than […]