Partnership in energy sector to strengthen local communities and sustainable development in Africa
The first event in the series of live broadcasts entitled Partners in Development, which are organised in collaboration between the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Development NGOs Fingo and chambers of commerce, focused on energy. The participants agreed that, in developing countries, cooperation with local communities is the key to eradicating energy poverty and to the green transition. The Foreign Ministry's Twitter and Facebook channels gathered together more than a thousand viewers.
Approximately 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity. Energy poverty hampers both industrialisation and people's everyday life. The first broadcast of the series on 11 March focused on how experts in the energy sector in Vaasa, a city on the west coast of Finland, could contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.
In the first live webcast, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari was accompanied by Petri Polvilampi, Director for Project Management at Wärtsilä, Eva Nilsson, Doctoral Researcher at Hanken School of Economics, and Jussi Laurikainen, Programme Adviser at World Vision Finland.
According to Eva Nilsson, energy needs in Africa are unequally distributed and rural women suffer from energy poverty the most. Responsible development cooperation in the energy sector can, at its best, create equality and, for example, support education.
“In all development cooperation, the primary concern should always be to find an answer to the question of how the countries and people in Africa benefit from foreign investments,” Nilsson emphasised. Project Manager Polvilampi from Wärtsilä has experience of energy partnerships, because Wärtsilä is trading with 46 of the 54 countries in Africa. According to Polvilampi, the green transition is now clearly visible in Africa.
“It is possible that Africa leapfrogs directly to renewable energy sources without relying on fossil fuels. Green energy is cheaper, which is why the era of coal power plants will soon be over,” Polvilampi says.
However, companies need each other. Development cooperation is about partnerships.
“Civil society organisations work with companies both in the countries of origin and in the countries of operation in order the make sure that business activities in the developing markets truly strengthen the local communities,” said Programme Adviser Jussi Laurikainen from World Vision Finland.
The question of China’s role in Africa’s energy policy was raised by both speakers and viewers. The speakers concluded that China, which is an important cooperation partner for African countries, invests in African infrastructure, but Finland and the EU strengthen the roles of local communities by means of cooperation based on the “trunkey contract” principle.
“Energy sector cooperation in Africa carried out by companies based in Vaasa is a good example of the fact that companies in different parts of Finland can offer solutions for sustainable development that support, for example education, climate change and equality,” Minister Skinnari said.
Follow and participate in Partners in Development on the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter(Link to another website.) and Facebook(Link to another website.) channels. The discussions can be viewed later as a recording on the following social media channels. Questions for upcoming events can be sent via this link(Link to another website.).
Partners in Development series:
- Wednesday 17 March at 9.00–10.00; Partners in Development in Oulu: Innovations. Participating in the discussion: Janne Haverinen, Professor of Practice and founder of IndoorAtlas, University of Oulu, and Annika Launiala, Director of Advocacy, Finnish Development NGOs Fingo.
- Monday 22 March at 9.00–10.00; Partners in Development in Joensuu: Forests. Participating in the discussion: Jarno Hämäläinen, Head of Unit, REDD+ and Sustainable Forestry, Arbonaut Ltd, Hanna Matinpuro, Executive Director, Siemenpuu Foundation, and Timo Tokola, Professor, University of Eastern Finland
- Friday 26 March at 13.30–14.30; Partners in Development in Turku: health technology. Participating in the discussion: Peter Essen, Adviser, Bayer; Jouni Hemberg, Executive Director, Finn Church Aid, Riikka Erkkilä, Chief Operating Officer, Aqsens Health Ltd
- Wednesday 31 March at 9.00–10.00; Partners in Development in Helsinki: funding and cooperation opportunities. Participating in the discussion: Antti Piispanen, Commercial Counsellor, Unit for Development Finance and Private Sector, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Vesa Koivula, Head of Meteorological Infrastructure & Capability Development, Vaisala Corporation, and Mika Välitalo, Advisor, Innovation and Development, Finnish Development NGOs Fingo.
- Monday 12 April at 9.00–10.00; Partners in Development in Jyväskylä: education. Minister Ville Skinnari will be accompanied by Emmi Pakkala, Advocacy Adviser at Save the Children Finland; Ari Koivu, Executive Director at LiiKe – Sports & Development; Leena Kaikkonen, Principal Lecturer at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JAMK); and Mervi Palander, CEO at GraphoGame.
- Tuesday 20 April at 10.30–11.30 Partners in Development in Lahti: climate. Minister Ville Skinnari will be accompanied by Ilona Hatakka, Disaster Preparedness Adviser at Finnish Red Cross; Lassi Linnanen, Professor at Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT; and Topi Paananen, CEO at Peikko Group.
The text was provided for the Foreign Ministry by Kaskas Media.
The news article was updated on 8 April by events to be held in April.