Digitalization for Energy Access

The World Bank’s Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation (ASCENT) Program, approved in November 2023 with an overall financing envelope of US$5 billion, is designed to accelerate sustainable and clean energy access affecting 100 million people in 20 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The ASCENT program aims to mobilize an additional US$10 billion from donors and private investment into distributed renewable energy is time-intensive, requires multiple and coordinated projects, and a conscious effort to build specialist institutions and capacity on infrastructure. Digitalization in energy access entails clear benefits through increasing convergence between data, analytics, and connectivity and can enhance efficiency, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness throughout the project cycle. Significant opportunities exist to advance the digitalization and integration of data streams in every country in the Eastern & Southern Africa region. Digitization potential encompasses the full project lifecycle: from planning stage through geospatial analytics and spatial data infrastructure, at the procurement and implementation stages of publicly funded initiatives, through the incorporation of process management systems, and at the implementation stage by utilizing digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) to assess on-the-ground asset performance and establish feedback loops that can inform future policies and programs. These three application areas, namely (1) geospatially-informed planning, (2) tender and contract management, and (3) MRV, have been identified as key areas under ASCENT to support countries with the opportunity to harmonize and align practices at the regional level and promote greater efficiencies across the region. The webinar will seek to introduce the above topics and the role that COMESA can play in facilitating ASCENT participating countries in adopting these technologies effectively. It will be followed by (i) a webinar focused on geospatial planning on August 26th, (ii) the upcoming Innovate4Climate (I4C) event in Berlin, Germany, on 10-12th September 2024 where designated focal points will be able meet relevant providers of digital solutions in the ASCENT booth and (iii) a dedicated session on digital MRV during the “Carbon Day”, organized after the I4C on September 13th in Berlin. #ASCENT #COMESA #worldbank #energy #digitaltransformation #digitalization