SEforALL to create new People-Centered Accelerator to support gender equality, social inclusion and women’s empowerment

At last month’s Sustainable Energy for All Forum in New York City, Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) announced its intention to launch a new People-Centered Accelerator to support gender equality, social inclusion and women’s empowerment in the energy sector.

The Accelerator will bring together a voluntary group of like-minded partners who are committed to advancing these goals, and work with global leaders to promote an energy transition that leaves no one behind.

By working together, partners supporting the Accelerator aim to:

• Enhance modern energy access for the very poorest people who will not be reached by business-as-usual approaches.
• Increase women’s full participation in sustainable energy solutions.
• Bring together and strengthen collaboration between local, regional, national and international stakeholders that are active in the energy, gender and social justice sectors.
• Help unlock finance from private and public sources.

Initial consultations already undertaken by SEforALL have highlighted key areas that the work of the Accelerator could make a difference in, including:

• Advocating for a greater focus on gender equality, social inclusion and women’s empowerment.
• Mapping stakeholders and initiatives to inform engagement and partnerships so we can promote systemic change.
• Promoting results-oriented evidence around the business case for action and supporting knowledge transfer.
• Focusing on the poorest people in society to ensure that no one is left behind as the sector evolves.
• Applying a gender and inclusion lens to strengthen impact investing in access solutions.
• Empowering women at all levels, so empowerment is not treated separately to other aspects of gender equality and social inclusion or participation.

SEforALL will now work with interested partners to create an action-orientated work plan, that includes appropriate working arrangements for the Accelerator, with the aim to formally launch the Accelerator at the end of the year.

SEforALL would like to hear from stakeholders who are interested in engaging and supporting the Accelerator in its initial development phase.