The Clean Energy Solutions Center, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation's Energy Access Practitioner Network, hosted this webinar featuring the work of some of the most impactful development partners contributing to the scale up of energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. The webinar kicked off the UN Foundation's new country-focused webinar series that will delve into the state of energy access across different parts of the world, starting with countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The speakers in this session showcased their respective organizations' experience in supporting the region’s off-grid energy sectors, discussing the crucial role of enterprises and the ecosystem around them.

Panelists

Jem Porcaro

Jem Porcaro is the Senior Director of Energy Access at the UN Foundation, where he is responsible for providing leadership, management and project support to the Foundation’s energy access work, with a particular focus on its involvement in the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative. Jem has more than ten years of experience in international energy development. Immediately prior to joining the Foundation, Jem worked with Nexant and earlier in his career worked with the United Nations Development Programme on energy access issues in their global energy practice. Jem received his Master of International Affairs with a concentration in International Energy Policy and Management from Columbia University, and his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Tufts University.

Daniel-Alexander Schroth

Dr. Daniel-Alexander Schroth is the coordinator of the SE4All Africa Hub, hosted by the African Development Bank in partnership with the AU, NEPAD and UNDP. Daniel also coordinates the Africa Climate Technology and Finance Center project, the Bank’s engagement in the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund and the Secretariat to the African Energy Leaders Group. Daniel has extensive experience in energy policy. Prior to joining the AfDB, he worked for several years for the European Commission in both headquarters and the field, for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and in the private sector. Daniel holds a Ph.D. and Masters in International Relations with a focus on international energy policy from the University of Cambridge, and business degrees from Reims Management School and the European School of Business Reutlingen.

Katrina Pielli

Katrina Pielli is Power Africa’s Senior Energy Advisor and Lead for Beyond the Grid with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Ms. Pielli leads Power Africa’s off-grid energy access team, Beyond the Grid, focused on adding 60 million new household and business connections in sub-Saharan Africa through off-grid energy solutions—household solar and mini-/micro-grid technologies. She is also Power Africa’s lead for energy efficiency and the nexus of energy access and energy efficiency. Ms. Pielli is seconded from the U.S. Department of Energy where she serves as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency. Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Pielli held several positions in the U.S. government—at the U.S. Department of Energy, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The presentations will be followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience. Please follow live Tweets via @energyaccessPN using #PNwebinar.