Aisha is an Energy Access Specialist from Kenya. She has over a decade of experience working on projects aimed at increasing access to modern, clean, affordable and sustainable energy services for households, communities, public institutions and enterprises. She is currently a PhD Candidate in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering & Public Policy at University College London. Through her PhD study, she works on equality and equity issues in the energy sector, from an academia-practitioner collaboration perspective.
Aisha has provided technical expertise in the design, implementation, management and monitoring of energy access projects, and has worked on projects in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. She has also provided policy advisory input during the preparation and planning of projects to ensure they improve energy access and create an enabling environment for energy access stakeholders.
Aisha has consulted for institutions including The World Bank, the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) and Practical Action in Eastern Africa, and on projects such as USAID’s Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Program. Amongst her key achievements are leading the Poor People's Energy Outlook (PPEO) 2016 research in Kenya; supporting the design of the Smart Communities Coalition targeting electrification, connectivity and digital tools in refugee settlements and host communities in Kenya and Uganda; and supporting the Energy and Cash Plus Initiative, an affordability pilot project for beneficiaries of a social protection programme in Kenya.
She holds a BSc in Energy Engineering and an MSc in Sustainable Energy and Entrepreneurship, and has undertaken training in renewable energy technologies, electrification, electricity pricing and environmental and social frameworks. She has also audited classes in clean energy project development and finance, strategic communication, building and managing professional sales organisations, and political development economics at Stanford University; and has taken virtual short courses on public policy economics and geographic information science via the University Oxford.
Households in Kenya without access to electricity must rely on paraffin and firewood, which emit low-quality light, produce pollutants that negatively impact health, and pose a fire hazard, all at a high financial cost. The majority are in rural areas, reliant on agriculture, and are vulnerable to shocks to their livelihoods. Access to modern and clean energy in homes, via community facilities such as water points, and in public facilities such as schools and health centres improves people’s quality of life and public services, and it contributes to breaking the cycle of poverty.Aisha Abdulaziz