country: Africa
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Roselyne Akello: “This business has brought so much joy in my life”
By Josephine Osengo, Practical Action It was an extremely hot month of January back in 2009 when her husband broke the news that he was relocating to a different country in search of a steady income, recalls Roselyne Akello. That day is etched in her mind as it was on the same day that…
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Fatou Thiam Sow: “Women are the heart of society and any progress is only possible through their participation”
By Alessandra Moscadelli, Energy 4 Impact Growing up in Senegal, the economist Fatou Thiam Sow never doubted that people have the ability to meet life’s challenges. She considers herself a great optimist and remains convinced that everyone can make a contribution to creating a better world. Having always been interested in gender issues, Fatou…
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New solar batteries help Awa get business back on track
Business is booming for Senegalese entrepreneur Awa Sene, the first cold trader in the rural village of Khassid, located 150 km southwest of Dakar. The solar freezer that she purchased 18 months ago has enabled her to generate healthy profits by selling refrigerated and frozen products such as fruit juices, yogurt, milk, ice and chilled…
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The effects of rural electrification on employment: New evidence from South Africa
This paper estimates the impact of electri cation on employment growth by analyzing South Africa’s mass roll-out of electricity to rural households. Using several new data sources and two di erent identi cation strategies (an instrumental variables strategy and a fi xed e ffects approach), I f nd that electri cation signi cantly raises female employment within 5 years. This new infrastructure appears…
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Gender, Time Use, and Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
The papers in this volume examine the links between gender, time use, and poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. They contribute to a broader definition of poverty to include “time poverty,” and to a broader definition of work to include household work. The papers present a conceptual framework linking both market and household work, review some of…
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ECOWAS policy for gender mainstreaming in energy access
Countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), represented by the Ministries of Energy, validated on 4-5 June 2015 in Dakar, Senegal, the regional Policy to mainstream gender in all energy programmes, projects and initiatives implemented in the Member States, including large scale energy infrastructure projects and investments. Described as “revolutionary” by the…
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Empowered Entrepreneur Training Handbook
The Empowered Entrepreneur Training Handbook provides six days of business skills, empowerment, and leadership training curricula and tools that can be implemented to better support the women sales agents and entrepreneurs with whom you work. Thoughtful planning and preparation by organizers is required in order to successfully implement this training. Trainers and implementing organizations should…
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Exploring the linkages between energy, gender, and enterprise: Evidence from Tanzania
Highlights • The paper provides evidence about gender differences in the productive use of energy. • The research focuses on fishing communities in Lake Victoria, Tanzania. • Men and women use different types and quantities of fuel in their enterprises. • Electricity is consistently associated with better business performance. • A multi-methods approach combining qualitative and quantitative research is used…
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Millicent Akinyi Dula: “I want to be the first woman to set-up a briquette production centre in my village”
Millicent Akinyi Dula, a mother of six, is an improved cook stoves and briquettes entrepreneur based in Rarieda town, Siaya County, Kenya. Alongside her clean energy business, she manages a small scale farm with dairy cows, maize, and local vegetables. When she lost her husband back in 1999, she was not sure whether she would…
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Do not let opportunity pass!
Mother of four, farmer, wife, and small business woman, Patricia Shayo is a determined and creative Tanzanian woman. When she’s not managing the household and raising four children – including twins! – she brings in extra cash by making nutritious sorghum flour to sell door to door. Patricia also farms a small plot of land…
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The market gardening entrepreneur modernising rural agriculture, with the help of solar power
Thanks to its fertile soil, favourable climate and plentiful supply of water for irrigation, the small village of Lompoul Sur Mer in the Niayes area of north-west Senegal is an ideal location for market gardening. Practiced throughout the year, market gardening is the primary income source for many women in the village. Aïssata Ba, 45…
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Kenya’s clean cooking entrepreneurs are changing the energy sector: Herma and Asenath’s stories
Herma Okonjo and Asenath Onyango are energy entrepreneurs living in Kisumu County, Kenya. Herma runs an improved cookstoves business. She produces liners for Kenya Ceramic Jiko, Uhai and Upesi cookstoves and assembles them. Asenath owns an energy business in improved cook stoves, briquettes and solar products. Both women have come a long way since…