The 9th Edition of the Busoga Yaiffe Olwekobaano[1] and Energy Expo, 2024: The NREP was invited to participate in the Busoga Olwekobaano and Energy Expo, from 5th – 7th December, 2024 with the theme “Taking access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy to more places and people using strategic partnerships to generate socio-economic change and to ensure sustainable development in Eastern Uganda.”
This 9th edition was the second edition in which clean energy was being promoted, the previous being the 8th edition whose theme was “Leveraging access to affordable, reliable and clean energy for improved health, education, agriculture and trade (HEAT) in Busoga region”. The event also doubled as the second post-covid Busoga Olwekobaano expo.
The event attracted key stakeholders in Uganda’s renewable energy eco-system including:
- Uganda Solar Energy Association (USEA);
- SENDEA;
- Makerere University;
- Solarika Energy;
- Uganda Solar Energy Association (USEA);
- Kaliro Technical Institute;
- Kaliro District Local Government;
- Mpologoma Heritage;
- World Vision;
- Musana Community Development Organization, among others.
The media fraternity was represented by BABA FM, NBS FM among others. including the government can discuss renewable energy issues and policies.
The NREP team held a radio talk show at NBS FM, whose aim was to educate the public about the environmental, social and economic benefits of adopting clean cooking solutions, including electric cooking.
Some of the preliminary successes that were realized during the event included
- Building on Success: The Olwekobaano & Energy Expo 2024 built on the first energy expo held in 2023. Discussions in 2024 were richer ans brought on board technology experts like the NREP.
- Expanding Participation: The 2024 edition featured more exhibiting partners and participants from various spheres of life, making it an even more engaging event, through equipping the locals on how to use clean cooking technology.
- Deepening Engagement in Renewable Energy: The event further deepened the engagement around renewable energy, through easy access to affordable, reliable and clean energy to more places and people through partnerships, live cooking demonstrations and public debates.
The NREP hosted a live talk show on NBS FM during the event, where the public was engaged on issues of clean cooking. Key concerns that emanated from the talk show were affordability, accessibility and operation of the technologies.
Key recommendations from the event included the following:
- Establishment of a Local Energy Resource Hub: it was recommended that there was a need to establish a base for knowledge dissemination, training and service centre for clean cooking solutions to serve Busoga and the greater Eastern Uganda.
- There is need for more awareness and capacity building in clean cooking.
- There is need to build the capacity of district local governments to promote clean cooking.
- There is need to support the private sector with an enabling environment for entry into the cooking markets of the respective regions.
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[1]Olwekobaano means a public gathering
