Editorial
by Sarah Adams, GVEP International CEO
Dear GVEP International Partners,
The end of 2007 marks the beginning of an exciting new phase for GVEP International with a new Management Team in place, new programmes being initiated, and new energy access products and services under development for 2008.
New Management Team: we have been joined by four new staff in London and one in South Africa and you can read all about the whole team in the article on this page. The new members of our team bring with them a wide range of skills and experience which they are already putting to good use designing new approaches to access to energy and programmes which we will be developing from 2008 onwards.
New Programmes: in 2008 we will be rolling out our EU and Dutch Government funded Technical Assistance Programme (Developing Energy Enterprise Programme) in East Africa with the help of five local partners (Aga Khan Foundation, IT Power, EME East Africa, EATDN and Practical Action) and a South African Partner (GERT). This is an ambitious programme focusing on providing business development assistance to energy entrepreneurs in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to assist them to build up energy supply chains in rural and periurban communities in the region. We will also be beginning the implementation of our Russian funded programme in East Africa, focusing on not only the provision of technical assistance to small and micro entrepreneurs but also access to finance.
In Latin America we will be continuing to support the implementation of the GVEP International Energy Coordination and Planning Platform in Peru, led by the Peruvian Government, and we will be assisting the Peruvian government in the designing of a new energy strategy and the organisation of regional workshops to ensure full consultation. GVEP International will be bringing international and national experts to speak at these workshops and share best practice in renewable energies and biofuels from around the world.
In Asia we will be setting up a new organisational structure and working with local partners to determine a regional strategy which will be implemented from Regional GVEP International offices. We will also be working to feed information from the ground into our knowledge management base in order to be able to encourage Partner networking and project support.
And of course we will be continuing to provide on-going support to our GAPfund award winners across the globe.
New Products and Services: we have already begun a design process to develop a range of knowledge management tools accessible to GVEP International Partners both through the website and also through the regional structures we will be developing. These tools will focus on providing market information, identifying funding and technical assistance for projects and entrepreneurs, monitoring and evaluating the challenges encountered in the field and the impacts of the activities carried out as well as training and capacity building in a range of subjects.
And of course we will be telling you how we are progressing with these activities during the year through regular newsletters and newsflashes. In the meantime, don’t forget to write to us to tell us about your own projects and also how you think we are doing!
We look forward to hearing from you!
Sarah Adams