Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF") Multiple Countries

The EARF gender assessment identifies women as primary energy consumers and key agents in the off-grid energy value chain. It proposes loan covenants to ensure companies maintain female employment levels and adopt Gender Empowerment Policies. The report includes detailed gender profiles for Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Mozambique, Kenya, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, highlighting systemic barriers such as cultural norms and limited access to STEM roles.

• Women serve three primary roles in the energy access sector: as customers (primary household energy consumers), entrepreneurs (generating income via the energy value chain), and agents of change (such as last-mile sales agents).
• The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted women, increasing the burden of unpaid care and making their jobs 1.8 times more vulnerable than those of men.
• To operationalize gender goals, EARF loans will include covenants requiring companies to maintain or improve the percentage of female employees and adopt a Gender Empowerment Policy covering flexible work and harassment mechanisms.
• In the off-grid solar sector, women's employment is low at 27%, with significant disparities in role types; women hold 45% of administrative positions but only 28% of STEM-related jobs.
• Access to energy has a direct positive impact on women's earnings; in one rural Ghanaian community, solar mini-grids increased the number of women entrepreneurs by 29% and their incomes by 11 times.
• Across the assessed countries, women's customer representation in energy access companies is approximately one-third, though it varies by product: 52% for clean cookstoves, 38% for solar lanterns, 32% for solar home systems, and 25% for microgrids.
• The EARF will prioritize funding for firms owned and led by women and require that 80% of received funds be used for employee salaries and commissions to mitigate the risk of female workers being the first fired during the crisis.
• The report identifies common barriers to women's advancement in the African energy sector, specifically cultural and social norms, lack of gender-specific training, and lack of technical skills.

APA

Green Climate Fund (2020). Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF") Multiple Countries. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp148-gender-assessment.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF") Multiple Countries. 2020. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp148-gender-assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF") Multiple Countries |date=19 November 2020 |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp148-gender-assessment.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefund2020participation, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF") Multiple Countries}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/fp148-gender-assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }