Through the feasibility studies conducted under the Energy Catalyst 9 Project, Challenges Uganda engaged with a wide range of stakeholders including households, commercial enterprises, agro-processors, and ecolodges to assess the potential impact of Kinetic Hydro's and Hydrowheel's river turbine technology. This process not only helped identify market opportunities for these innovative energy solutions and gain deeper insights into Uganda’s energy landscape and consumer needs, but it also revealed a big gap: the low participation of women in the green sector. This underscored the urgent need for targeted initiatives to promote gender inclusivity in sustainable energy.
Recognizing this, we partnered with Shortlist to implement the Women for Green Jobs Project. This initiative is designed to create opportunities for 30 women who have been out of work, helping them reintegrate into the green jobs market. The program focused on equipping them with relevant skills and aligning their expertise with the current demands of the renewable energy sector, ensuring they are well-prepared for meaningful and sustainable employment.
The women took on internship-structured training that could help them be retained at the companies they are placed with and build on their skills to ensure they met the current job market demands - the project aimed at attaining the following objectives.
• Job creation for the participants.
• Businesses have a pull of talent that hasn’t been utilized before.
• Skills building for the participants to create their businesses.
• Employability skills transferred to enable participants to find work after placement.
A key part of this project was matching the career goals of the interns with the business goals. This approach aimed to boost motivation and engagement, enhance learning and skill development, improve retention rates, and elevate overall performance.
Overall, the project attracted and worked with 16 renewable energy sector companies, including
4 x solar companies
8 x companies under clean cooking
2 x under waste management
1 x under recycling
1 x company under forestry
In the below videos, we hear from participating companies and women who benefited from the project.
Key Achievements
Placements:
30 x two-month intern placements were offered in the green sector
Employability Knowledge and Expectation Alignment:
27 women interns reported improved employment-related knowledge and skills, making them job-ready.
One intern successfully applied the skills acquired through the internship to secure a job within 5 weeks after her placement ended.
18 participants expressed that the placement fully aligned with their career goals, interests, and aspirations.
Improved Perceptions:
11 businesses demonstrated improved perceptions regarding the abilities of women to run and manage their businesses. Demonstrating improved abilities to manage, train, and onboard women to support operating their businesses.
Jobs Created:
16 jobs (including self-employed) were created.
