TEC (The Energy Center, KNUST) has organized a 3-day fact-finding workshop in collaboration with  ESMAP (Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme of the World Bank).  The theme of the workshop was energy access and productive uses for the urban poor. The event which also included a visit to a slum community in Kumasi, was to gather preliminary information on the nature of slum communities; means of livelihood and income generating activities; access to electricity and cooking fuels and end-use equipment. 

In their presentations Ms Yvette Bossman and Mr Voravate Tutivate, representatives of ESMAP, said their Organization was in partnership with Cities Alliance to help National Governments respond to the challenge of urbanization by addressing lack of access to modern energy services and inefficiencies in supply. This will be done by partnering local knowledge institutes such as The Energy Center, KNUST to design specific interventions and also build on best-practices aimed at finding solutions to energy access and productive uses.  
                                                 
              
A snapshot of slum-based enterprises at Akwatia-Line and Dakodwom in Kumasi 

The workshop was organized to elicit information and comments from stakeholders ahead of a scoping study by TEC with the support of ESMAP which will seek to understand inter alia:

•    the socio-economic profile of the slum communities;
•    main livelihood and income generation activities;
•    energy use by types/sources, expenditure on energy, nature of energy supply, etc; and
•    potential for energy substitution and efficiency improvements to enhance income generating activities. 

The workshop was attended by city planners, NGOs, representatives of slum dwellers in Accra and Kumasi, Representative of Slum Dwellers International (SDI), Fellows of TEC led by Dr Rudith King of the Center for Human Settlement Studies and Prof Fred Akuffo of the Mechanical Engineering Department. 

For more information on World Bank ESMAP please click here.