President Kagame delivers remarks at
the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
Founding Conference
RWANDA’S SOLAR
ALLIANCE WITH INDIA
By Chigozie N. Udensi*
M
ore than 1.1 billion people in
developing countries lack access
to electricity. Some 590 million
people live in Africa, with 70 million in
Rwanda, where the rate of energy in rural
areas is as low as 14 percent.
Lack of access to electricity impedes
development. It affects everything from
people's ability to learn to the creation
of businesses and the provision of public
services like health care. According to
the United Nations, meeting their goal of
achieving universal electricity by 2030
requires enormous investments.
In spite of the importance of meeting this
goal of electrifi cation, there is yet need to
exploit the global generation of electricity
through solar technology. The International
Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched in January
2016 by the Indian Prime Minister Modi,
supported by Francois Holland, the then
18 • RWANDA • 2018
French President at that time. Its agenda to
meet the Sustainable Development Goals and
the African Union’s Agenda 2063 targets of
remarkable expansion in energy production
came at the right time. Many tropical
countries joined this alliance as it provided
an alternative and sustainable means of
electricity generation for “sunny” countries.
Rwanda joined the ISA in 2017 as the
25th member of the Alliance. In keeping with
the timely adoption of the solar project, His
Excellency, President Paul Kagame in his
inauguration speech, highlighted the need for
affordability and reliability in solar energy
distribution. The president also emphasised on
the need to meet this solar energy innovation
with sustainability, especially in the need for
battery storage and distribution smart grids to
reach end users.
Sustainability in this magnitude of global
progression has presented the need for huge