The Motion to Incorporate Girls into Kenya’s Photo voltaic PV Workforce 

The work executed by WISEe, Girls in Sustainable Vitality & Entrepreneurship, is combating local weather change, gender inequality, and bettering electrical energy entry concurrently. Began in 2015, WISEe leads technical PV coaching, hands-on set up, and entrepreneurship steering for Kenyan girls getting into the renewable business. Based mostly out of Nairobi, they want to unfold to all counties in Kenya and have led Photo voltaic Pump Irrigation System (SPIS) coaching in Malawi, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya. Since their founding they’ve accomplished 29 trainings and reached over 880 trainees. This has totaled over 16,000 beneficiaries, together with college students, hospitals, and houses that now have entry to electrical energy.

With certification necessities to work in PV set up in Kenya, PV set up jobs have been male dominated. Of an estimated 300 licensed technicians in mid-2019, solely 19 have been feminine. With the purpose of lowering this disparity, WISEe provides quite a lot of coaching, together with grid-tie methods, PV technician coaching, and Empowered Entrepreneurship Coaching. Their complete strategy places trainees below the supervision of certified girls technicians who stroll them via website evaluation, system design, set up, and upkeep.

The success of WISEe is due, at the very least partially, to the truth that each the trainers and the trainees are girls. Catherine Nyambala, co-founder of WISEe, emphasised that this allowed girls to take full benefit of the hands-on coaching. “Girls solely lessons (are essential) as a result of after being in a category stuffed with males for 5 years I felt like I couldn’t contact the panel, (however) in womens solely lessons everybody works collectively. They’re very collaborative and everybody will get hands- on expertise.” The category additionally permits the ladies main the coaching to observe public talking, enhance group, and develop their management expertise.

WISEe leads installations at hospitals, faculties, and houses, offering electrical energy to rural communities. Picture supplied by WISEe

Nyambala made it clear that WISEe has been made doable because of the work of its companions. For PV coaching and installations, WISEe has partnered with Distant Vitality, a US based mostly non-profit that leads PV coaching and mentorship applications internationally. WISEe has additionally partnered with Strathmore College and We Share Photo voltaic to additional increase its ourtreach. Within the hopes of main trainings which tackle the rising EV market, WISEe is presently in partnership talks with a number of organizations concerned in EV improvement in Kenya.

WISEe is main these trainings at a essential time as Kenya’s photo voltaic business continues to increase, having added 120 MW in 2021 alone. WISEe-trained PV installers might be particularly necessary as off-grid photo voltaic continues to develop. A report by the Worldwide Commerce Affiliation discovered that there’s vital demand for off-grid photo voltaic as a approach of offering electrical energy to communities that aren’t presently related to the transmission grid. Whereas the estimated PV potential for Kenya is roughly 15,000 MW, the electrical energy entry price for rural Kenya is at solely 65%. Nevertheless, Kenya has no scarcity of photo voltaic vitality potential on account of its excessive radiation stage. Photo voltaic options have been particularly useful in offering electrical energy to rural communities via Photo voltaic Dwelling Techniques (SHS), that are presently offering vitality to an estimated 200,000 houses.

In dialog with Jedidah Kaseva, a WISEe trainee who’s now working in e-mobility, it grew to become clear that individuals who full coaching discover themselves a part of a group. Kaseva emphasised that WISEe has allowed girls who beforehand had no affiliation with renewable vitality to enter the clear vitality work drive. WISEe not solely helped her enter the renewable business, however has inspired her to hunt development. Kaseva acknowledged, “WISEe grew (my) confidence to use for brand new roles and it creates a group. (At WISEe) It’s straightforward to get somebody to information and mentor you, (resulting in) development in your profession.”

Working alongside the Kenyan Authorities’s Youngsters’s Division, WISEe has accomplished photo voltaic installations in faculties, houses, and rescue facilities in Kajiado County. These installations meant the colleges now not needed to pay for costly diesel turbines, however allowed college students to learn, research, and eat in improved lighting, which has led to raised efficiency at school. Kaseva spoke fondly of her coaching, which happened at major and excessive faculties in addition to the maternity wing of hospitals.

Members of the WISEe coaching applications speak in regards to the sense of group that comes on account of WISEe. Picture supplied by WISEe.

A educated PV workforce is one thing each nation with the photo voltaic radiation ranges of Kenya desperately wants. A workforce that features each women and men advances gender equality and expands alternatives for girls. By addressing each of those elements whereas holding coaching periods at faculties, hospitals, and houses WISEe is working to fight a number of of the biggest challenges dealing with the Kenyan renewable business on the similar time.