Offgrid solar expert GOGLA has just issued an E-waste Toolkit as part of its drive to establish a circular-powered renewable energy economy. Tying into the UP initiative’s Q4 circular manufacturing theme, pv magazine interviewed Drew Corbyn, GOGLA’s head of performance and investment, and the project manager in charge of the non-profit’s new e-waste management project.

The 24-day, digital 2020 Africa Energy Forum kicked off on October 20. The event brings together African energy sector officials to identify opportunities, air their views, form partnerships, and take the necessary steps to improve the industry. For solar, challenges in policy making, procurement processes and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were discussed, as well as emerging trends such as solar digitalization.

Part of the development lender’s $150 million Kenya Off-grid Solar Access Program, the money will enable distributors to stock up and establish sales networks as well as offering affordable repayment terms to customers across 14 off-grid counties in the East African nation.

Covid-19 rescue measures such as delaying electricity bill payments pile added pressure onto energy companies already hit by pandemic-related falls in demand in a continent which a new study suggests is too dependent on donor aid for the development of renewables.

The latest edition of the Global Off-grid Solar Market Report by the World Bank and GOGLA has called for regulatory and financial support to help off-grid distributors create jobs lost to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lumos Global has received US$35 million to fund its off-grid solar home systems installation project in Nigeria.

Financial solutions company Solarise Africa has raised US$10 million to support its investment in solar PV projects in Kenya, Rwanda and South Africa. The company has also set its sights on more “difficult” territories, like the DR Congo, Chad and Sierra Leone. CEO Jan Albert Valk talked to pv magazine about the company’s plans, and the “overwhelming” need for more renewable energy investment on the African continent.

The Senegalese government is aiming to increase access to solar power in rural areas by reducing VAT on PV panels, inverters, solar thermal collectors and other products in an effort to achieve universal electricity access in the country by 2025.