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What happens when we stop viewing clean energy projects in Africa as charity and start seeing them as critical infrastructure investments? In this thought-provoking conversation, Isona Shibata, Head of International Programmes at Ashden, the climate solutions charity, challenges our fundamental understanding of sustainability finance.

Drawing from her fascinating journey from architecture in the Niger Delta to leading international programmes, Isona reveals how unreliable energy access fundamentally undermines all other sustainability efforts. Her lightbulb moment came when she realised that "the energy efficiency of a building was kind of irrelevant if you didn't have reliable access to energy in the first place."

We find out about Ashden's Powering Clean Energy Investment programme and the recognition that small-scale renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa deserve the same long-term investment horizon as traditional infrastructure. For thousands of communities across Africa, decentralised off-grid solutions will be the primary route to electricity for generations – making these investments no less significant despite their smaller scale.

Have a listen to this fascinating set of insights into how to make sustainable energy progress happen in Africa. 

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