This project aims to reduce the gender gap in the energy sector in West Africa consistent with the policy for gender mainstreaming in energy access of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The policy seeks to ensure that women and men have equal opportunities to enter and succeed in energy-related fields in the private sector. Its target is to achieve gender balance (50-50) by 2030.
With women-led small and medium-sized enterprises in the energy sector still accounting for less than 10 percent in the ECOWAS region, there is a need to evaluate the current gender mainstreaming strategies, test innovative approaches and use the findings to shape and inform the formulation of new, gender-inclusive finance programs to facilitate business start-ups in the clean energy sector. The project will also inform the scaling of technical and vocational training as well as entrepreneurship and business management training in the energy sector targeted at women.