As the global transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy (RE) gathers pace, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) in South Africa (SA) has been a game changer in terms of stimulating the deployment of large scale RE and unlocking possible pathways towards more sustainable economic, industrial, environmental and social development.

For the purpose of planning future investment in the renewable energy sector, the Malian energy authorities, Energie du Mali, private operators and international cooperation partners expressed a need for more precise assessments of the size and variety of renewable energy resources in Mali.

  In 2012, UNEP DTU completed a study into the outcomes, barriers and prospects for energy SMEs in four of the AREED countries (Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia), and in close collaboration with the respective AREED Centres (Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE),  ENDA Énergie (Senegal), Tanzania Traditional Energy Development Organisation (TaTEDO) and

GNESD worked to promote energy access in developing countries and to establish synergistic opportunities between energy access and development. The Network’s objective was to promote energy access in developing countries and it did this by undertaking scientific research and providing practical policies that help governments and intergovernmental organizations to further mutually inclusive energy access and development activities.