Ms. Bertha Dlamini's Remarks at Africa Climate Week Graca Machel Trust side event.

Empowering Women for Climate Resilience: The Nexus of Green Energy, Agriculture, and Gender

The world is at a crossroads, facing the dual challenges of climate change and energy transition. In this complex landscape, women are emerging as indispensable players, particularly in the realms of green energy and agriculture. At a recent side event during Africa Climate Week, Ms. Bertha Dlamini, Founding President of African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP), and representative of the Graca Machel Trust (GMT) Energy Network, delivered a compelling address that underscored the critical role women play in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the necessity of fostering gender equality to address these challenges effectively.

The Power of Women in Green Energy and Agriculture

Women possess a wealth of knowledge about local ecosystems, positioning them as invaluable contributors to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts. Beyond being a moral imperative, recognizing and harnessing the potential of women in these sectors is a strategic necessity. As the world embarks on a global energy transition marked by the large-scale deployment of renewable energy and hydrogen technologies, the significance of this transition goes beyond energy and climate security. Reliable and accessible energy is fundamental to society's functioning and, indeed, the very fabric of contemporary civilization.

Understanding the Interconnected Nexus

The green energy-agriculture-gender nexus forms an intricate web where these vital components are profoundly interconnected. Women's roles as farmers, energy consumers, and decision-makers in rural communities and value-adding service providers across the vast energy generation, transmission, and distribution value chains place them at the heart of climate change adaptation. Their deep understanding of local ecosystems can guide sustainable agricultural practices, while their participation in the clean energy transition can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bolster resilience.

However, unlocking the full potential of this nexus necessitates gender equality as a core principle. Empowering women with access to resources, education, and decision-making authority is essential. Placing them at the center of discourse is even more crucial. Africa Climate Week must consider placing women at key discussion tables as co-creators of solutions.

Addressing Formidable Challenges

Africa faces immense challenges on its path to sustainability. To electrify 600 million people and shift 900 million to clean cooking fuel, innovative solutions are required. Additionally, empowering the 58% of women involved in early-stage entrepreneurship demands access to financial mechanisms tailored to the conditions of African women's Micro Small Medium Enterprises.

Leveraging the Power of Networks

Networks offer access to resources, extend market reach, foster collective learning, and enhance community resilience. They provide platforms for knowledge exchange, innovation, and advocacy, enabling women to amplify their voices and advocate for policies supporting gender equality, sustainable energy adoption, and climate resilience.

The Path Forward: A Multi-Faceted Solution

To address these challenges and seize the opportunities, Ms. Bertha Dlamini proposed a comprehensive solution:

Leverage GMT's Network: The Graca Machel Trust's network of women in Green Energy and agriculture across the continent can champion gender-inclusive climate solutions, amplifying women's roles in sustainable practices and resilient adaptation.

Inclusion of Indigenous Perspectives: Recognizing the value of indigenous perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge is crucial in navigating the complexities of the green energy-agriculture-gender nexus.

Gender-Responsive Policies: Integrating gender-responsive strategies in climate adaptation policies can empower women farmers, green energy entrepreneurs, and professionals, including youth and persons with disabilities.

Early Involvement in Value Chains: Women must have access to platforms to drive policies and strategies at the inception of emerging value chains.

Empowering Women through Networks

The African Women in Energy and Power network, present in 22 markets across the continent, is making significant strides:

1.????? B2B missions connecting women to technology companies and investors across different regions of the globe.

2.????? Information sharing sessions: showcasing 45 electricity markets on the continent and their electrification projects and procurement processes.

3.????? Just Energy Transition skills development programmes empowering women officials in electricity utilities to stimulate low carbon micro-economies in their jurisdictions.

Afrishela supporting Innovative Enterprises:

1.????? FarmerLifeLine Technologies: Solar powered crop pest and diseases detection solution using AI, that also includes advisory support to farmers on sustainable products to use in farming

2.????? Agrosahas: Agribusiness providing access to market for smallholder farmers via an app that connects farmers to buyers,

3.????? Women Smiles Uganda: Agribusiness providing affordable and sustainable farming solutions to women and youth to enhance food security and nutrition

A Call to Partnership

Ms. Dlamini invited all stakeholders to join hands in partnership to create the most powerful network of women dedicated to climate change adaptation solutions for the continent. The GMT Energy Networks Growth Path (NGP) initiative will target associations and organisations within the energy network for comprehensive capacity-building endeavours, supporting these organizations along their organizational development, growth and maturity curve, so they may operate entities with astute governance structures suitable for the deployment and execution of climate change funding.

Most importantly, Ms Dlamini called stakeholders to support GMT Energy Network as it pursues the following targeted strategies:

1.????? Empowering organizations within its network with a bold mission: to positively impact the lives of 1 million women within the next two years. These women will assume diverse roles throughout Africa's energy landscape, acting as architects of policies and co-creators of climate change adaptation strategies. These strategies will foster greater women's participation across emerging value chains, strengthening their influence and engagement within the energy sector.

2.????? Empowering women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and companies in the energy sector to actively engage in Large-Scale Energy Infrastructure projects across the African continent by providing opportunities for project equity participation.

3.????? Establishing dedicated platforms that facilitate collaboration among women-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and companies within the energy sector, encouraging the formation of joint ventures. These platforms aim to enable active participation in the growing independent power producer market.

4.????? Launching an ambitious initiative for the deployment of 1 million clean cooking stoves across the African continent. This endeavor represents a significant commitment to address the critical issue of clean and sustainable cooking solutions, aiming to reduce the reliance on traditional biomass fuels and promote the use of efficient and environmentally friendly cooking technologies. The deployment of these clean cooking stoves will contribute to improved indoor air quality, reduced deforestation, and enhanced health and well-being for communities across Africa. Additionally, it aligns with broader efforts to mitigate climate change and advance sustainable development goals on the continent.

5.????? Hosting Annual Women in Energy Conferences featuring meticulously curated content by subject matter experts and prominent figures within Africa's dynamic energy ecosystem. These conferences will offer invaluable insights into technological advancements, a crucial component as Africa strives for universal access to electricity while advancing towards a decarbonized and thriving African economy. Notably, the events will welcome financial institutions, showcasing their role in enabling access to finance, and highlight various tiers of women-led businesses in the green energy sector. These conferences will underscore the pathways through which women can secure access to markets and empower themselves in this critical industry.

Recognizing that volunteerism alone won't suffice, she stressed that addressing the impact of climate change and building resilient economies requires comprehensive and sustained efforts on a large scale.

GMT's proficient Project Management Unit (PMU) will be at the forefront, steering the path to success through a well-resourced structure and competent capacity.

In conclusion, Ms. Bertha Dlamini reminded us that the game is not merely about achieving net zero, it is about achieving universal access to clean affordable energy and creating a network of empowered women who can drive real change in green energy and agriculture.

“Networks are indeed the pathway to scaling efforts for high impact. Let us work together to create a more sustainable and equitable future”, she motivated.

About Ms. Bertha Dlamini

Ms. Dlamini is an advocate for accelerated participation of African Women and Youth in Africa’s Power and Energy sector. She is the founding President of African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP) (www.aweap.africa ); an organization she founded to accelerate the participation of African Women Entrepreneurs in the full value chains of Power and Energy in Africa and contribute towards addressing the continent’s energy poverty. The organization has 22 chapters in Africa.

She is the founder of Rito Group of Companies Pty LTD, a consulting group with interests in management consulting energy and power consulting solutions (www.ritogroup.africa )

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