From July 10โ11, 2025, Strathmore Energy Research Centre and WRI Africa held a training for over forty participants including county officials from Homa Bay, Kilifi, Machakos, Nakuru, Nairobi, Nyandarua; energy practitioners from Ampere, Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC), QONA Sacco, Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, Open Capital and manufacturing companies such as Vert Ltd.
This training enabled participants to gain skills in using the Energy Access Explorer (EAE) tool for various applications, including identifying investable Productive Uses of Renewable Energy (PURE) projects in each county and conducting multi-criteria analysis to assess the geographic viability of these projects.
Dr. Ndungu Teresia, Director, Livestock Production in Nyandarua County, was impressed by the abilities of the EAE tool. She emphasized that the training would enable her to advise key county partners on investment areas, inform policies to improve budgeting and implementation processes, contribute data to the tool for Nyandarua County, and train fellow county officials to ensure sustainability and continued use.
The EAE is an online, open-source, and interactive geospatial platform that enables policymakers, energy planners, energy entrepreneurs, donors, and development institutions to identify high-priority areas for energy interventions.
โThe Energy Access Explorer is very user-friendly and will help me identify high-priority areas to start and scale up irrigation activities. It will also help map out energy demand for value-added activities. The training could not have come at a better time,โ says Amos Rukwaro, Project Liason Officer, Crops Directorate, Kilifi County Government.
The training set the momentum for tangible traction toward digitally enabled, data-driven planning, with energy access at the center of cross-sector collaboration. By combining local knowledge with data from EAE, counties and partners can better target PURE investments that uplift communities and drive targeted development one county at a time.
โIt was a fantastic two days filled with valuable learning. The EAE is a game changer as far as availability of information to catalyze energy access is concerned. The hands-on sessions were particularly valuable, demonstrating real-life, data-driven decision-making. I will use the tool to determine financing opportunities for PURE in areas where our financial services are located,” said Faith Wambugu from K-Rep Fedha Services.
๐๐๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ค ๐๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ
Earlier in the week, WRI Africa co-hosted a two-day workshop with Strathmore Energy Research Centre, Kenya Renewable Energy Association (KEREA), GOGLA, IKEA Foundation and Energising Development (ENDEV). The two-day convening centered on mobilizing large-scale investment, with a focus on blended finance mechanisms that can de-risk projects and unlock capital for PURE initiatives. It also explored innovative consumer finance models designed to make PURE solutions affordable and accessible to smallholder farmers and micro-enterprises, who are the true agents of change at the critical last mile.
This Energy Access Explorer (EAE) training was supported by the C.S. Mott Foundation and is available online as a free, open-source resource.
Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC) continues to offer tailored training programs in the renewable energy sector. These include specialized courses in Solar Photovoltaic (SPV) systems, Grid-Tied systems, Solar Water Pumping, Solar Cooling, Energy Management, and other areas critical to sustainable energy development.
Article was written by Anne Njoroge, Communications Officer, Strathmore Energy Research Centre