Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) Call for Entrepreneurs 2023

Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) is a Research and Innovation Project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon2020 programme and coordinated by the ICLEI European Secretariat (a non-profit entity based in Brussels). SESA was launched in October 2021 with a duration of 48 months and is being implemented in nine African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania. The SESA project is developing and testing sustainable energy solutions as well as promising business models to accelerate the green transition and the achievement of energy access goals in Africa.

SESA’s main objective is to support a diversity of affordable solutions that deliver access to reliable, efficient and sustainable energy services for all, creating business opportunities that can directly contribute to development. Selected innovations within the three areas of focus: (1) access to energy, (2) productive use of energy and (3) circular economy will be developed and initially tested in a modular demonstration case in Kenya and based on initial learnings, various aspects of the tested innovations will be validated in four countries: Ghana, South Africa, Malawi and Morocco. The learnings from these validation countries will strengthen the overall replicability of the technologies as well as business concepts. To initiate the replication process, four additional countries (Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania) will be supported to adopt the technologies with the most replication potential.

The uptake of new solutions and business models requires close cooperation between local start-ups, innovative entrepreneurs, industry, city administrations and research and academic institutions. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can play a key role in this process and thus, we are looking for Expressions of Interests (EOI) by suitable enterprises and innovators that are interested in offering their services and/or products to explore the replication and scale-up of selected technologies (see below) and promising business models as part of the SESA project.

SESA Replication & Scale-up Call

The SESA Replication and Scale-up Call is built on the experience gained in the demonstration actions and aims to select suitable enterprises who are willing to explore the replication and scale-up of selected technologies and business models developed and tested within the SESA project. In below table, you can find the prioritised technology domains as well as the focus regions (where applicable) per country. Focus countries for this call are Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania.*

The SESA project will make available between EUR 50,000 to EUR 100,000 per selected enterprise for the design, implementation, and evaluation of submitted replication projects via service agreements. Entities are welcome to form consortiums to apply for the call. However, if selected, the service agreement will be signed with the lead partner only.

Interested enterprises should be operationally active in the selected countries and should submit project proposals outlining how they plan to boost the replication and scale-up of below technologies. Feasibility assessments exploring the replication potential of sustainable energy solutions in very remote communities such as in the case of Namibia are also eligible.

In this context, the areas prioritised under this call will be as follows: Download the guidelines for applicants

About Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA)

The Smart Energy Solutions for Africa (SESA) consortium project has launched the first “SESA Call for Entrepreneurs”, seeking small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly women-led, with a focus on sustainable energy solutions in Ghana, Malawi, Morocco and South Africa.

SESA Call for Entrepreneurs

Aim and Benefits of SESA Call for Entrepreneurs

The SESA project will make available between EUR 50,000 to EUR 100,000 per selected enterprise for the design, implementation, and evaluation of submitted replication projects via service agreements. Entities are welcome to form consortiums to apply for the call. However, if selected, the service agreement will be signed with the lead partner only.

Requirements for SESA Call for Entrepreneurs Qualification

Certain minimum criteria need to be met and only those applications which meet the below minimum criteria will be considered:

1. Your enterprise must be registered and operationally active in Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda or Tanzania * ;
2. Your enterprise must have officially been in operation for at least three years;
3. Your enterprise must have generated revenues and provide financial statements including income statement and balance sheets for the last two years (2022 and 2021);
4. There are no pending litigations against your enterprise or members of its management team;
5. Proof of previously similar work done in country.

Women-led and women-owned businesses are particularly encouraged to apply.

Please note: The SESA Call for Entrepreneurs 2023 will focus on SMEs operationally active in Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania as first priority. However, this does not preclude applications from SMEs registered and operative in other African countries as long as the technological requirements are met.

Interview date, Process and Venue for SESA Call for Entrepreneurs

Selection

The proposal will be assessed through the following weighted criteria:

1. Innovation & Impact (25%)
2. Business Robustness & Market Potential (20%)
3. Expertise & Excellence of the Team (20%)
4. Implementation Plan & Value for Money (30%)

Application Deadline

June 25, 2023

How to Apply

Applications must include all the below-mentioned requirements and must be submitted electronically via email to [email protected] before the deadline of 25th of June 2023 – 23:59 CET (Brussels).

For more details, visit SESA website.