The demand for energy is growing, considering the rising population around the globe which now has surpassed 8 billion people. Wants have now converted into needs, as we evolve, the access to utilities has to be made more convenient, especially in the developing world that we live in today, yet we often see this as a challenge, given the lack of resources and infrastructure that still needs an upgrade. Perseverance is the key, along with investments and accountability.
Gender inequalities are known to be closely linked to unrelenting poverty and instability. Women empowerment and energy access go hand in hand; there are several examples of energy access initiatives having a magnified impact as a result of enabling women around the globe which in turn have even led to economic growth of their respective countries. If we talk about women empowerment in isolation to the energy sector then Grameen Bank of Bangladesh has countless success stories of women who became entrepreneurs from being beggars in the past and paved the way to the financial stability of their respective households.
In 2013, Barack Obama launched Power Africa which aimed at increasing the number of people with access to power, twofold. This is where most of the population had been without access to power and other basic utilities. Another example is of Asia, where the Asian Development Bank launched the ‘Energy for All Partnership’ whose goal was to provide safe and affordable energy for another 100 million people in the region by 2015.
Now when we talk about empowerment through access to energy in Pakistan, WWF Pakistan can be quoted as a good example where it made model villages along the coastal belt in rural Sindh and installed solar panels for households where women could sew clothes at night unlike in the past when they used to be living in darkness total darkness, post sunset. As a result, quite a number of households were able to get rid of debts which had been anchoring them to an abysmal pit of debt, they were able to continue earning a respectable living while writing off debts in the process where this has become a burgeoning issue along the coast.
Another quotable example is of NEPRA bringing the three stakeholders under one roof for the reduction of energy poverty. These included K-Electric, Engro Energy, and Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (AIM) as they signed an MoU to offer interest-free microfinance loans, especially to underserved households and small business owners for the installation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems.
KE and Engro Energy donated a collective revolving grant of Rs. 15 million to AIM which then created a dedicated credit pool for loan borrowers for a loan duration of up to 36 months with the minimum loan size being Rs. 20,000 with no interest rate.
Similarly, the much-acclaimed Roshi Baji Programme by KE itself became renowned and worthy of accolades thanks to the numerous households that it impacted. It was initiated in 2021 as a neighborhood safety ambassador program to cater to the issue of safety incidents at homes where women and children are most susceptible to danger and therefore to ‘address the challenge of electrical safety incidents in the underdeveloped parts of Karachi’.
Under this apprenticeship programme, women were empowered and equipped in communities to play an informed role and become a catalyst of change. As such, women are provided with basic safety and operational field training in exchange of their role as a KE ambassadors. Pilotted with 40 women in 2021, it has entered its third cohort where 50 women have been inducted.
These wonder women have educated over 460,000 households in areas namely; Lyari, Baldia, Korangi, Malir, Shah Faisal, Bin Qasim, Surjani, Orangi, and others, with regards to electrical and rain safety, power theft hazards, and energy conservation. Furthermore, their intervention also enabled the conversion of almost 30,000 illegal connections to legalised, metered electricity users. That’s a success story from Pakistan which has won KE the international recognition as well, bagging the prestigious S&P Global Platts Energy Award under the Corporate Social Responsibility – Diversified Program Category! Now that’s a big win for the nation!