Public Private Development Partnership for Renewable Energy Skills Training and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Somalia
The project has two objectives:
Among the many challenges facing Somalia, two elements are critical: (a) massive underutilization of women’s skills and abilities in the labour market with women’s labour force participation rate at 19% compared to 74% for men; and (b) lack of access to affordable, sustainable electric power and a significant lack of adequately skilled technical experts in the energy field.
In light of this, the Public Private Development Partnership for Renewable Energy Skills Training and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Somalia (PPDP) project addresses two critical problems:
For women entrepreneurs: the lack of effective business development support services and lack of collective voice and advocacy for this sector.
For the electrical sector: the lack of a reliable system for developing skilled workers able to support expansion, maintenance and transformation of the electrical system to model based on renewable energy.
The project will also establish a common curriculum for the design and installation of solar PV systems. At least 10% of the participants in each training are women.
- to economically empower women, especially women entrepreneurs in the MSME sector, and
- to develop skills to support an expanded electrical system with a greater proportion of renewable energy sourcing.
Among the many challenges facing Somalia, two elements are critical: (a) massive underutilization of women’s skills and abilities in the labour market with women’s labour force participation rate at 19% compared to 74% for men; and (b) lack of access to affordable, sustainable electric power and a significant lack of adequately skilled technical experts in the energy field.
In light of this, the Public Private Development Partnership for Renewable Energy Skills Training and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Somalia (PPDP) project addresses two critical problems:
For women entrepreneurs: the lack of effective business development support services and lack of collective voice and advocacy for this sector.
For the electrical sector: the lack of a reliable system for developing skilled workers able to support expansion, maintenance and transformation of the electrical system to model based on renewable energy.
Women Economic Empowerment (WEE)
The project’s main objectives is for women owned SMEs to be more viable and have effective institutional and peer support. The program does that by reinforcing the technical, organizational and financial sustainability of existing business development service providers (BDSPs) and civil society organisations (CSOs) to provide market-based and demand-driven business development services to growth-oriented women entrepreneurs and advocate for an enabling business environment. The project is also providing targeted, intensive assistance to 500 established, high-potential, growth-oriented, women and men-owned small businesses.Renewable Energy
The project aims to improve technical skills in Somalia’s electricity sector and expand access to clean and affordable energy. As part of this component, the project is implementing a private sector-led technical skills training programme focused on the planning, installation and maintenance of solar energy projects, especially in the off-grid sector. The project will deliver basic training for electrical services through coordination with IPPs and project developers, as well as short-term continuous training at intermediate and advanced levels.The project will also establish a common curriculum for the design and installation of solar PV systems. At least 10% of the participants in each training are women.