As part of the activities of the European ESECA project, several economic missions are proposed by partner clusters in the program's target countries: Senegal, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya.

From October 2 to 13, 2023, ESECA organized an economic mission to Nairobi, Kenya, followed by Kigali, Rwanda. Seven European companies took part in this mission.

The main aims of the mission were to :

- Develop business opportunities between Europe, Kenya and Rwanda for European companies by organizing events and B2Bs.
- Identify key contacts in the Kenyan and Rwandan energy sectors, and more broadly in sub-Saharan Africa, by taking part in international conferences.
- Introduce ESECA projest and its Africa strategy to new stakeholders

The presentation of the entire European delegation is available here : https://www.pole-medee.com/2023/06/eseca-mission-kenya-rwanda/

The first part of the mission to Kenya focused on developing economic partnerships.To this end, the ESECA consortium organized a conference to introduce the delegation's European companies to key Kenyan players in the energy sector. The day was a great success, with some fifty European and African companies in attendance, enabling active networking between the European delegation and local players!

The delegation then took part in two major international conferences:
- POWERELEC is the largest international trade show devoted exclusively to the energy, renewable energies and electricity sectors.
- The African Renewable Energy Forum (REFA) is an annual conference promoting investment in renewable energies on the African continent.

These conferences were an opportunity to exchange ideas with major players in Kenya's energy sector, and to launch new partnerships!

The second part of the mission took place in Rwanda, and focused on the role of innovation in setting up Europe-Africa collaborations. Following the same model as in Kenya, ESECA organized an introductory event on the energy sector in Rwanda. The conference brought together 56 organizations, including 49 Rwandan players. Another promising opportunity to build bridges between Europe and Rwanda!

The mission then focused on the LEAP-RE Stakeholder Forum: the LEAP-RE program aims to create and develop an international community of experts dealing with renewable energies (in terms of innovation, training, access to financing and deployment policies).This event was coupled with the Afrilabs trade fair, an annual gathering of incubators and players in the African entrepreneurial support ecosystem.

The LEAP-RE conference brought together over 400 participants from Europe and Africa, providing an opportunity for intense international networking in R&D and innovation!

Do not miss our next step!
From December 6 to 8, the ESECA consortium is organizing its third international networking event in Augsburg, Germany.

The event will be held as part of the Off-Grid Conference + Expo. This two-day event is Europe's only neutral congress dedicated to the off-grid energy sector: solar, wind and hydro.

Financial support is available for ESECA cluster members to take part in this mission.