GEEREF NeXt Gender strategy

GEEREF NeXt adopts the EIB Group’s Gender Strategy to address the gendered nature of energy poverty in developing countries. The fund focuses on the upstream renewable energy value chain, aiming to avoid aggravating existing inequalities while promoting female entrepreneurship and representation in the energy workforce. It identifies specific risks associated with on-grid projects, such as discriminatory land-use norms and limited female employment, and plans to require Investee Funds to conduct project-specific gender assessments supported by the GEEREF NeXt Technical Assistance Facility.

• GEEREF NeXt recognizes that energy poverty is gendered, with women in most developing countries experiencing it more severely than men, and views gender equality as a "critical parameters for a successful transition to sustainable energy for all by 2030".
• The fund identifies a risk that expanding energy access in a "gender blind manner" could worsen existing disparities, as the benefits of on-grid power expansion might disproportionately favor men.
• GEEREF NeXt aims to achieve gender gains by promoting female entrepreneurship within the green economy, increasing women's representation in the energy industry workforce, and enabling energy access for the poorest populations.
• The fund will encourage Investee Funds to perform gender assessments for each Beneficiary Project to establish baselines and identify specific challenges, with costs covered by the GEEREF NeXt Technical Assistance Facility.
• In the energy sector, women are typically a minority in the workforce of rural renewable energy enterprises, especially in technical and managerial roles, due to socio-cultural restrictions and limited mobility.
• Experience from the predecessor fund, GEEREF, in Uganda and Kenya showed that men managed household finances and women were often excluded from or unaware of land sale decision-making processes.
• Large-scale on-grid projects (wind, solar, and hydro) can create negative gender impacts through discriminatory norms regarding land ownership and use, which limit women's access to information, consultation, and compensation entitlements.
• Potential negative effects of energy projects include the exclusion of women from employment and stakeholder consultations, increased dependency on men as income providers, and a rise in human trafficking and sexual harassment near construction sites.

APA

Green Climate Fund (n.d.). GEEREF NeXt Gender strategy. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/gender-assessment-fp038-eib-multiple-countries.pdf

Chicago

Green Climate Fund. GEEREF NeXt Gender strategy. n.d. https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/gender-assessment-fp038-eib-multiple-countries.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Green Climate Fund |title=GEEREF NeXt Gender strategy |url=https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/gender-assessment-fp038-eib-multiple-countries.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greenclimatefundndgeeref, author = {{Green Climate Fund}}, title = {{GEEREF NeXt Gender strategy}}, institution = {Green Climate Fund}, url = {https://www.greenclimate.fund/sites/default/files/document/gender-assessment-fp038-eib-multiple-countries.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }