2024 update:

Partnership Expansion:

UNEP and GPA (UNITAR) are global leads together with Last Mile Climate, providing policy support and technical expertise.

Mercy Corps leads implementation in Uganda, supported by a grant from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for implementation in Bidi Bidi. Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee) leads efforts in Rwanda, focusing on integrating SOLCO initiatives with existing energy and livelihood programs.

SNV is anticipated to lead in Kenya, with plans under development for broader implementation across refugee settlements.

Partnership Growth:

Welcomed new partners such as Schneider Electric, African Clean Energy, Burn, and Eco Safi, each bringing unique technological and market strengths to the coalition that now totals 28 public and private sector organizations.

Community Engagement:

Enhanced community mobilization and awareness efforts led by local NGOs and RLOs (Refugee Led Organizations), ensuring that the project aligns with the needs and aspirations of the local communities.

Future Plans:

Rwanda Implementation: With Alight in lead, the focus will be on integrating solar electric cooking technologies into existing programs, with an emphasis on community empowerment and sustainability.

- Kenya Strategy: In partnership with SNV, exploring avenues to replicate successful models from Uganda and Rwanda, tailored to local contexts in Kakuma.

- Scaling Impact: Leveraging additional funding and partnerships to expand SOLCO’s reach, aiming to include more countries within East Africa and beyond.

- Governments of Uganda, Zambia and Nigeria have endorsed SOLCO through exchange of letters with UNEP for implementation in their countries and Rwanda and Kenya is in progress.

Commitment:

SOLCO is a platform for public-private partnerships to enable solar-electric cooking at scale across a number of refugee-hosting countries through localized market-based implementation that crowds in private sector solutions and climate financing. SOLCO will leverage 100 million USD in financing across refugee-hosting countries in Africa to transition 250.000 households to solar-electric cooking by 2027.

Partners: WFP, IKEA Foundation, Global Platform for Action, Kiva, UNEP, Instiglio, Last Mile Climate, and the Global Electric Cooking Coalition, Mercycorps