Gender innovation, meaning gender approaches, processes and practices for energy access that deviate from the norm, is non-existent in the energy sector. ENERGIA established the Gender and Energy Innovation Facility to address this gap.

The facility, created in 2020, tests and evaluates innovative approaches to address persistent gender challenges in energy access across three thematic areas: gender and energy entrepreneurship and employment, gender and energy in the care economy and gender in energy policy and practice.

We have selected a total of 17 pilot projects in three countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Nepal) that received financial support to develop, test and evaluate their innovative approaches. The aim is to bring at the same table diverse actors to discuss, integrate and develop their project ideas. These projects represented a test bench for implementing new approaches and determining which innovations could work and be scaled up. After implementing the pilots, a few proposals per country have been selected for further, tailored support to transition to scale.