Insights into the Field: Norad Visits EnDev Malawi
Malawi faces significant challenges in achieving widespread energy access. In a recent visit, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), one of EnDev’s core funders, gained firsthand insights into the impactful work undertaken by EnDev Malawi.
Only 12.4 percent of Malawians have access to electricity. In addition, affordable and clean cooking technologies are still rare and mainly limited to urban areas. In rural regions, a significant portion of the population relies on three-stone fires, exposing women and children to health risks. EnDev Malawi plays a pivotal role in advancing the Government of Malawi’s goals for clean and affordable energy and promoting low-carbon development pathways. The country project focuses on supporting markets for improved cookstoves (ICS), also including higher-tier cooking interventions, along with off-grid solar (OGS) technologies, and products and services that facilitate productive energy use (PUE).
Against this backdrop, a delegation from one of EnDev’s core funders, Norad, visited EnDev Malawi. The delegation gained firsthand insights into the field, engaging with beneficiaries who use ICS and solar technologies for productive purposes. This included interactions with women from several villages who have adopted solar for small-scale irrigation farming. Here, EnDev has provided technical assistance to the involved local solar company.
Geir Vensen, Senior Adviser in the Section for Energy of the Department for Climate and Environment at Norad, shared his impressions: “Seeing how many resilient women are involved, along with their entrepreneurial attitude, was remarkable! After all, development is about change and these women really rely on their own force and increase the value of their production.”
Geir Vensen also acknowledged EnDev’s clean cooking interventions and their relevance by linking energy access and climate change. He highlighted the crucial role of programmes like EnDev in tackling challenges posed to the African continent by global warming. This underscores the importance of promoting climate-friendly energy access as a pivotal avenue for the future.
Click through the gallery for more insights into the visit.
