Despite significant progress in recent years, particularly on access to electricity, we are not on track to meet Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) to deliver universal access to energy by 2030. Almost 3 billion people remain without access to clean cooking. Without sustained efforts, 650 million people will still be left without access to electricity in 2030, and 9 out of 10 of them will be in sub-Saharan Africa. This affects all development goals, not just SDG7 as poor access to energy jeopardises healthcare and education provisions, quality of life, gender equity, livelihoods, and much more besides.
Energy Catalyst addresses this challenge by:
- Acting as a springboard for innovators to de-risk, accelerate and demonstrate their solutions for ending energy poverty
- Building partnerships across the energy access ecosystem to maximise the potential for commercialising new technologies and business models
- Supporting innovators to create new economic opportunities and improve lives in Africa and Asia
- Embedding and promoting the principles of gender equality and social inclusion to enhance commercial sustainability and maximise societal impact
