Refugee-Led Energy Organizations Hub

Welcome to the Refugee-Led Energy Organizations (RLEO) Hub, a resource center for both entrepreneurs living in and serving displacement-affected communities, and ecosystem partners seeking to support these entrepreneurs. The RLEO Hub also provides a space for refugee-led businesses (RLBs) and organizations delivering clean energy access in their communities to showcase their impact and share their support needs for continued growth.

Empowering displaced people to establish businesses and organizations is crucial to the broader effort to achieve SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy for All in the hardest-to-reach settings. Most refugee settlements are already home to large informal markets, with businesses selling traditional energy sources such as charcoal, firewood, flashlights, batteries, cookstoves, and low-cost electrical appliances. With access to affordable products and adequate support, existing businesses and new entrepreneurs can lead the charge to increase access to sustainable energy solutions for displaced communities.

As refugee entrepreneurs and leaders have a deep understanding of the needs and features of their communities, they are well-positioned to develop holistic solutions and innovative business models grounded in the realities of displacement. Displacement-affected people who take steps to launch clean energy businesses and environmental sustainability initiatives often do so out of a genuine desire to improve the quality of life of their friends and neighbors. As they grow, they create new livelihood opportunities in their communities, both by employing fellow refugees and indirectly by enabling other businesses with reliable energy supply.

Yet RLOs also face higher barriers to success than peers in the off-grid energy sector, from limited access to finance and partnerships to the highly limited ability to pay of their customers. Refugees also face challenges in navigating local regulatory requirements around establishing a business, and they may face additional restrictions tied to their refugee status. To overcome these barriers and empower RLOs and RLBs will require sustained and holistic support from a wide range of partners.

Refugee-Led Organizations and Businesses

Learn more and connect with refugee-led and community-based organizations and businesses making a difference in their communities today!

• Green at Mind seeks to improve the safety, health, and lifestyles of women and youth living in Kakuma and Kalobeyei Refugee Camps in Northern Kenya by expanding access to clean cooking solutions.
• Green Hope Harvest takes a people-first approach to energy access and economic opportunity in Kakuma by developing sustainable energy and agricultural projects that directly respond to community members' identified needs.
• Kakuma Ventures links energy access with connectivity services and professional training resources, helping to stimulate economic opportunities and livelihoods in Kakuma.
• Live In Green provides refugees in the Kyaka II Refugee Settlement in western Uganda with access to clean cooking solutions.
• Nakivale Solar Stoves and Energy Solution Association has pioneered a model to provide clean cooking and manage waste in Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Western Uganda by manufacturing solar cookstoves and green charcoal briquettes.
• Okapi Green a is building on the momentum of growing renewable energy access in the Kakuma Community through trainings to develop a refugee-led solar workforce.
• Rafiki wa Mazingira Ltd (Friend of the Environment) takes a unique approach to promoting clean cooking by producing briquettes made from the invasive Prosopis juliflora plant which threatens the ecosystem in Turkana County, Kenya.

Refugee-Led Organization Knowledge Resources

The below resources aim to provide practical insights to support RLBs and RLOs and all stakeholders working to support their sustained operations and growth. Share resources you think should be included by contacting energy@unitar.org.

Resource Title	Resource Type	Summary
A Guide to Scaling Solutions, for Funders and the Humanitarian Sector	Report	Ashden's briefing highlights the importance of refugee-led businesses in achieving SDG 7 in displaced communities, providing examples of real-life business successes. The guide identifies the key challenges that RLBs face when developing and scaling their businesses. It offers practical recommendations for funders and partners on how to address barriers and support these businesses on their growth journey.
Empowering Refugee-Led Energy Enterprises for a Sustainable Future: Insights from HEC 2024	Blog post	Read the blog summarizing the lessons learned during the "Community-Led Energy: Investing in Local and Refugee-Led Energy Enterprises" session at the 2024 Humanitarian Energy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya hosted by the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings. The session saw representative of eight RLOs present their business activities and needs to the wider humanitarian energy stakeholder community.
Community-Led Energy: Investing in Local and Refugee-Led Enterprises	Video	Watch the recording of the "Community-Led Energy: Investing in Local and Refugee-Led Energy Enterprises" session hosted at the 2024 Humanitarian Energy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. The discussion brought together participants including humanitarian agencies, donor representatives, private sector partners, experts with lived experience of displacement, and energy sector association representatives to discuss the potential of locally and refugee-led businesses to transform energy access from within the displacement contexts where they live, as well as the barriers to their success.
Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access	Programme	Transforming Humanitarian Energy Access (THEA) is a multi-year program supporting the shift toward more sustainable and inclusive energy delivery models in humanitarian and displacement settings. This includes a commitment to work with and support RLBs. THEA is implemented by Mercy Corps in partnership with Ashden and the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA). The programme is funded by the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) via the Transforming Energy Access platform and managed by the Carbon Trust.

Participate in the RLEO Hub

The RLEO Hub is a free resource on which any refugee or internally displaced business owner is welcome to create a profile and/or share information about their organisation or enterprise. The Global Platform for Action (GPA) on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings maintains the landing page of the RLEO Hub to ensure that information remains up to date and that new resources are added as they become available. The GPA is happy to provide business owners with basic support in editing and formatting their profiles. However, please note that the GPA does not endorse any specific private businesses or organizations, nor does the GPA take any responsibility for the quality and verity of information included in the profiles published on the hub.

If you are a refugee or internally displaced business owner or a partner working with relevant organizations and enterprise, connect with us at energy@unitar.org.