Shared Waters, Shared Responsibility: Turning Lake Victoria into a Green Growth Engine

Traditional fishing gear along wetlands in Kalungu District, Uganda (📷UCSD)

At first light on the shores of Lake Victoria in Busia, where Uganda meets Kenya, Owino pushes his canoe into the water. The lake has fed his family for generations. But today, his catch is smaller, the shoreline dirtier, and the rains less predictable. Still, he rows out—because the lake is not just water. It is life, identity, and hope.

On 21 May 2026, leaders, activists, and communities will gather in Tanzania’s Mwanza Region for the inaugural Lake Victoria Day under the theme: “Shared Waters, Shared Future: Uniting for a Sustainable Lake Victoria Basin.” But beyond the speeches lies a harder reality: the future of the lake is inseparable from the region’s progress—or failure—on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with only a few years left to 2030.

A critical moment comes even earlier. From 18–19 May 2026, a Stakeholders’ Forum will bring together civil society, utilities, youth and women’s groups, and practitioners from across the basin. This must not become another talk shop. It should surface what is already working—and agree on how to scale it across borders.

Across the Lake Victoria Basin—home to an estimated 35–40 million people—progress is stalling where it matters most: jobs, clean water, and livable cities (African Great Lakes Information Platform, 2023). Population growth is accelerating, especially in lakeside cities such as Kisumu, Kampala, and Mwanza. Informal settlements are expanding, exposing a widening housing gap and overstretched urban services (UN-Habitat, 2022).

For families like Owino’s, this growth brings both opportunity and pressure: more markets for fish, but also more pollution, more competition, and no safety net.

And the lake itself reflects this strain.

Untreated waste and agricultural runoff are degrading water quality and fuelling invasive species such as water hyacinth. Fisheries that once sustained millions are under growing pressure from overexploitation. Climate change is intensifying floods and droughts, disrupting livelihoods across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. These are not isolated environmental problems—they are the visible symptoms of deeper development failures across interconnected SDGs: poverty (SDG 1), sustainable cities (SDG 11), climate action (SDG 13), and life below water (SDG 14) (United Nations, 2023).

A Green Growth Opportunity

Yet within this crisis lies a powerful—and often overlooked—opportunity: green industrialisation.

The Lake Victoria Basin is uniquely positioned to become a hub for sustainable, job-rich industries. Its vast water resources, strategic location, and rapidly growing population create the conditions for new pathways of inclusive growth. Sustainable aquaculture, fish processing, agro-based industries, renewable energy, and eco-friendly construction and packaging could generate large numbers of decent, green jobs—particularly for the region’s fast-growing youth workforce (ILO, 2022).

But this transition will not happen by default.

Without deliberate planning, rapid urbanisation and industrial expansion will deepen the very problems they aim to solve. Poorly planned housing will continue to encroach on wetlands that naturally filter the lake’s water. Informal industries will keep discharging untreated waste into the lake. Growth, in other words, can either restore the lake or accelerate its decline.

So what does a “shared future” really mean in this context?

It is not a slogan. It is a set of hard choices.

• Protect wetlands or lose water quality.
• Formalise industry or accept rising pollution.
• Invest in green jobs or absorb growing youth unemployment.

A shared future means aligning population growth, urban development, and industrialisation with sustainability. It means investing in affordable, green housing that protects ecosystems while improving living conditions. It means building sustainable aquaculture value chains that can meet strong regional and global demand. It means supporting small and medium enterprises to adopt cleaner production and circular economy practices—for example, turning organic waste from the fast-growing urban areas into fertiliser that supports regional ecological agriculture.

Above all, it means ensuring that communities like Owino’s are not left behind, but are central to this transformation.

It also means recognising that progress in the basin cannot be achieved through isolated national efforts. The lake already teaches this lesson: pollution crosses borders, fish stocks migrate, and economic opportunities are shared. Solutions must do the same.

Back on the water, Owino pulls in his net. The catch is modest, but he notices small shifts: fewer plastic bottles drifting by, more fishers respecting breeding zones, and new buyers asking for sustainably sourced fish. His niece, once unemployed, now works with a local enterprise in Kisumu that is turning water hyacinth into organic fertiliser inputs.

It is still fragile. But it is no longer just survival—it is the beginning of a different kind of economy.

Lake Victoria is no longer just an environmental concern. It is a test of whether East Africa can align growth with sustainability. The choices made now—on urban planning, housing, and industrialisation—will determine whether the basin becomes a green growth engine or a slow-moving crisis.

If it gets this right, it can become a model for the continent.
If it doesn’t, it will quietly become a warning.

And if the lake thrives, so too will the millions who depend on it.

References:

·         African Great Lakes Information Platform (2023)

·         UN-Habitat (2022) Urbanisation and Housing in East Africa

·         United Nations (2023) SDG Progress Report

·         ILO (2022) Green Jobs in Africa Report

She Walks Five Kilometres for Water. The World Has Five Years to Change That

Accessing water at a protected well in Wajir (📷IIED, 2019)

At first light in Wajir County, 14-year-old Fatimah lifts a yellow jerry can onto her head and begins the long walk—five kilometres to a shrinking water point. By the time she returns, school has already started.

Now consider this: in 2025, only about 30% of people in sub-Saharan Africa have access to safely managed drinking water (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2025). The rest—like Fatimah—are still walking.

This is the reality confronting the world in the final five years of the 2030 Agenda.

Now imagine a different morning.

Fatimah wakes to the steady hum of a solar-powered pump. A tap stands just steps from her home. Water flows—clean, reliable, close. She fills her container in minutes and runs to class. Her mother joins a local water committee that manages tariffs and repairs. Time is reclaimed. Dignity is restored. Opportunity begins.

This is what SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all) looks like when it works.

But globally, progress is off-track. Around 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, 3.4 billion lack safely managed sanitation, and 1.7 billion lack basic hygiene services (WHO & UNICEF, 2025). Africa carries a disproportionate share of this burden, with rural communities and women most affected (UNICEF, 2025).

That is why the 2026 United Nations Water Conference, co-hosted by the United Arab Emirates and Senegal and convened in the UAE from 2–4 December 2026, is a pivotal moment. It is not another convening—it is a test of whether the world can translate urgency into action (UN DESA, 2024; UN-Water, 2025).

So what will it take to change Fatimah’s story—and millions like hers?

1. Investment that reaches the last mile
Despite progress since 2000, current rates are insufficient to meet SDG 6 targets by 2030 (UN-Water, 2025). Financing must shift toward decentralised, climate-resilient solutions—solar boreholes, small piped systems, and safe sanitation services—supported by blended finance that connects global capital to local delivery.

2. Innovation that works for people
Technology is already transforming access: remote monitoring of water systems, mobile payments, and low-cost treatment solutions are improving reliability and sustainability (World Bank, 2024). But innovation succeeds only when it is co-designed with communities and grounded in local realities.

3. Political will that delivers systems, not promises
Water security depends on governance. Yet progress remains uneven, especially in fragile and climate-vulnerable regions (WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2025). Governments must prioritise operations and maintenance, strengthen regulation, and protect water ecosystems.

4. Solidarity that moves beyond slogans
SDG 6 will not be achieved in isolation. It demands global solidarity—fair financing, technology transfer, and inclusive governance that centres women and youth. The 2026 Conference must catalyse this shift from fragmented efforts to collective action.

Fatimah’s story is still being written.

The next five years will decide whether she keeps walking for water—or turns on a tap and steps into her future.

If the world chooses urgency, investment, and solidarity, then by 2030, we will not just measure progress—we will see it, in villages and cities across Africa, where water flows, and opportunity follows.

References

• WHO & UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP). (2025). Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000–2024: Special focus on inequalities.
• UN-Water. (2025). SDG 6 Progress Update 2025
• UNICEF. (2025). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Global Status Update.
• UN DESA. (2024). Preparatory process for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference.
• World Bank. (2024). Water Global Practice: Innovation and Financing for WASH.

She Feeds Africa—Why Is She Still Shut Out? (IYWF 2026)

 

Women are the backbone of Africa’s food systems (📷JEEP)

At sunrise in northern Uganda, Amina scans her maize field—knowing exactly what to do, but lacking what she needs to do it. In Senegal, Mariama tends her rice plot. In Ethiopia, Almaz studies the sky, reading the rains like a clock. Different countries. Same reality.

They are the backbone of Africa’s food systems—yet still farming with one hand tied behind their backs.

Across sub-Saharan Africa, women make up nearly 50% of the agricultural labour force, and up to 60% in some countries (FAO, 2023). Yet only about 15% of landholders are women, and they receive just 2–5% of extension services (FAO, 2023; World Bank, 2024). The result is stark: women farmers produce 13–25% less than men, not due to their ability, but rather due to unequal access to resources (World Bank, 2024).

This is the reality the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026) must confront.

For Amina—and millions like her—the first barrier is finance. Without land titles or formal records, women are often invisible to banks. Yet when women access credit, they invest directly in productivity and the well-being of their households. Closing the gender gap in agriculture could reduce the number of hungry people globally by up to 150 million (FAO, 2023). For Amina, that gap is the difference between planting on time—or not at all.

Next is technology—and the gap is widening. Across Africa, women are 29% less likely to use mobile internet than men, leaving over 200 million women offline (GSMA, 2023). That’s not just a connectivity issue—it’s a climate risk. Without access to timely weather forecasts or advisory services, women absorb more shocks. Yet when equipped, they are more likely to adopt climate-smart practices that improve soil health and resilience (FAO, 2023).

Education is the multiplier. When women farmers access training—whether literacy, agronomy, or market skills—productivity increases and households become more food secure. But extension systems still under-serve women, often due to delivery models that overlook their time, mobility, and social constraints (World Bank, 2024). Fixing this means redesigning how knowledge reaches them—locally, inclusively, and consistently.

Then comes the hardest shift: decision-making power.

Across Africa, women grow food—but rarely control the land, the income, or the decisions that shape their futures.

Weak land rights and social norms keep them on the margins. Yet evidence shows that closing gender gaps in agriculture could increase farm output by up to 10% and reduce poverty by 13% (FAO, 2023). When women lead—in cooperatives, households, and policy spaces—investment decisions improve, and communities become more resilient.

These gaps are interconnected. Finance unlocks technology. Technology strengthens resilience. Education amplifies voice. And decision-making sustains change.

This is why IYWF 2026 must go beyond recognition—it must drive gender-transformative action. Policies must not only include women, but also actively redistribute access to resources, information, and power.

Because the truth is simple: Africa cannot achieve Agenda 2063 or the Sustainable Development Goals while half its farmers remain constrained.

Amina, Mariama, and Almaz are not waiting for change—they are ready for it.

Because every season we delay, the cost is measured in lost harvests, lost incomes, and lost potential we can no longer afford. 

Same Waste, Different Mindsets: The Real Reason East Africa’s Cities Are Drowning in Garbage

A waste dumpsite in Kampala's Bwaise suburb (📷Kimbowa Richard)

At 6:30 a.m. in Kampala, Aisha ties a knot on a black polythene bag and sets it by the roadside. Inside is everything—banana peels, plastic bottles, leftover food, and her baby’s used diaper. When the truck comes, it will all go to the same place in Buyala (Kampala City Council’s new landfill site).

A few streets away, Peter does it differently. He separates his waste—organic for compost, plastics for sale.

Same city. Same waste. Completely different outcomes.

The Growing Waste Challenge

East Africa’s cities are expanding rapidly—and so is their waste problem. Urban populations in Sub-Saharan Africa are projected to nearly double by 2050, significantly increasing municipal solid waste generation (World Bank, 2018). In Kampala alone, the city generates over 1,500 tons of waste daily, yet a substantial portion remains uncollected or poorly managed (KCCA, 2022).

More than 50–60% of waste generated in East African cities is organic (UNEP, 2015). This means it could be composted or converted into energy. However, when mixed with plastics and hazardous waste, it becomes contaminated and largely unusable.

This is where segregation comes in—and why it starts in the mind, not the landfill.

The Real Problem: How People See Waste

In many East African cities, waste is still viewed as something to “throw away” rather than something to manage. This perception drives behaviours like open dumping and burning, which remain widespread in informal settlements and peri-urban areas (NEMA Uganda, 2020).

But the issue goes beyond awareness. It is behavioural:

• If waste is seen as useless, people won’t sort it.
• If sorting feels like extra work, it won’t happen.
• If responsibility is seen as “the government’s job,” behaviour won’t change.

Segregation demands a shift from “out of sight, out of mind” to “my waste, my responsibility.”

When Mindset Changes, Systems Work

Across East Africa, small but powerful examples show what happens when people rethink waste. In Kenya, enterprises like TakaTaka Solutions have built viable recycling models by working with households that separate waste at source (UN-Habitat, 2020). In Uganda, community initiatives like End Plastic Pollution Uganda are converting organic waste into compost and plastic into construction materials—unlocking both environmental and economic value.

These innovations succeed where behaviour supports them.

Because here’s the truth:
No recycling system can fix mixed waste.

Segregation is the foundation of a circular economy—where waste is minimized and materials are continuously reused (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2019).

Why Segregation is a Mindset Issue First

Policies, bins, and trucks matter, but they fail without behaviour change.

Studies show that knowledge alone does not lead to improved waste practices; attitudes, convenience, and social norms play a decisive role in whether households segregate waste (Guerrero, Maas & Hogland, 2013). In many cases, even where infrastructure exists, low participation undermines system efficiency.

This means real change requires:

• Reframing waste as value (organic waste = fertilizer, plastics = income)
• Normalising sorting at the household level
• Building community norms and accountability

In cities where segregation becomes “what everyone does,” adoption accelerates.

A People-Centred Way Forward

Back in Kampala, imagine if Aisha changed one habit—just one. She separates her banana peels. Her neighbour notices. Soon, a collector starts buying plastics in the area. A small ecosystem begins to form.

This is how transformation happens—not through policies alone, but through people.

East Africa does not just need better waste systems. It needs a cultural shift.

Because the future of its cities will not be determined by how much waste they produce—but by how people choose to see it.

References

• Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2019). Completing the Picture: How the Circular Economy Tackles Climate Change.
• Guerrero, L.A., Maas, G., & Hogland, W. (2013). Solid waste management challenges for cities in developing countries. Waste Management.
• Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) (2022). Solid Waste Management Status Report.
• National Environment Management Authority (NEMA Uganda) (2020). State of the Environment Report.
• UN-Habitat (2020). Waste Wise Cities Tool.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (2015). Global Waste Management Outlook.
• World Bank (2018). What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management.

Rewriting the Rules: Why Investment Frameworks Must Deliver for Uganda’s Development

A Coffee farm in Kyesiiga Sub county in Masaka district, Uganda (📷 Kimbowa Richard)

Uganda—and Africa more broadly—does not suffer from a shortage of investment interest. What it faces is a deeper, more structural challenge: investment rules that are not consistently designed to deliver long-term development outcomes.

Despite attracting between $2–3 billion in foreign direct investment annually (World Bank, 2023), Uganda continues to grapple with persistent structural gaps. Industrialisation remains uneven, job creation lags behind population growth, and critical sectors such as energy and manufacturing are yet to reach a transformative scale.

Nowhere is this disconnect more visible than in the energy sector. Over 80% of Ugandan households rely on biomass—primarily charcoal and firewood—for cooking (Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 2022). This dependence carries significant costs: deforestation, public health risks from indoor air pollution, and lost economic productivity. It also highlights a central policy failure—investment is not sufficiently aligned with everyday development needs.

This is not a uniquely Ugandan problem. Across Africa, the continent receives just 3–4% of global foreign direct investment (UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2023/2024), while facing a climate financing gap exceeding $200 billion annually (African Development Bank, 2022). The issue is therefore not only the volume of investment, but its quality, direction, and governance.

At the heart of this challenge are investment rules—embedded in national laws, bilateral investment treaties, and regional agreements—that have historically prioritised investor protection and capital inflows over sustainable development outcomes. While these frameworks have played a role in attracting investment, they often lack the policy space and incentives needed to ensure that investments contribute meaningfully to national priorities.

Uganda now has an opportunity to recalibrate.

First, investment frameworks must be explicitly aligned with national development strategies. This includes integrating clear sustainability criteria into investment promotion regimes—linking incentives to job creation, local value addition, clean energy adoption, and environmental stewardship.

Second, policy coherence is essential. Investment policy cannot operate in isolation from energy, climate, and industrial policies. Aligning these domains reduces regulatory uncertainty, lowers investor risk, and enhances the developmental impact of capital inflows.

Third, Uganda and its regional partners should rethink the design of investment agreements to better balance investor protections with public interest safeguards. This includes provisions that preserve the government’s ability to regulate in areas such as environmental protection, public health, and community rights.

Finally, there is a need to prioritise investments that directly address structural constraints—particularly in energy access. Expanding clean cooking solutions and reliable electricity access is not only a social imperative; it is foundational to productivity, health outcomes, and climate resilience.

The broader lesson is clear: investment alone does not guarantee development. Without the right rules, incentives, and institutional alignment, capital can flow without delivering meaningful transformation.

For Uganda, the task ahead is not simply to attract more investment, but to shape investment so that it works for people, the economy, and the environment. That requires moving beyond a narrow focus on inflows and toward a more strategic, development-oriented approach to investment governance.

In a rapidly changing global economy—marked by geopolitics, climate pressures, shifting supply chains, and growing demand for sustainable finance—countries that get these rules right will be best positioned to translate investment into lasting prosperity.

Uganda should aim to be among them.

East Africa’s Most Valuable Infrastructure Isn’t Built — It’s Grown

 

An Analog forest with coffee intercropped with trees in Sironko district (📷Kimbowa Richard, 2024)

As the world prepares to mark International Day of Forests on March 21, 2026, Grace Nafula begins her morning the same way she always does — walking into the small forest behind her home in Bumatofu, Buhugu sub-county, Sironko district (Mount Elgon region, Uganda).

The air smells of damp soil and wild leaves. She checks the beehives tied to tree trunks, gathers leaves of Momordica foetida (commonly referred to as Ebombo in local Luganda), a climber that has multiple medicinal benefits, including treatment of coughs, which her grandmother taught her to recognise. She also collects dry branches from nearby Musambya (Markhamia lutea) and guava trees for use in cooking.

To an outsider, it may look like a simple patch of woodland. But to Grace, it is a storehouse, a pharmacy, a fuel station, and a bank.

“This forest feeds us,” she says.

Across East Africa, millions of households share Grace’s reality. Forests are not simply landscapes — they are economic infrastructure quietly supporting livelihoods, water systems, agriculture, and energy supply. Yet unlike roads, dams, or power plants, forests rarely receive the financing needed to sustain the services they provide.

The scale of community dependence is enormous. Globally, about 1.6 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods, particularly rural communities and smallholder farmers (FAO, 2022). In Africa, forest resources contribute roughly 22 per cent of household income in rural areas, through products such as fuelwood, fruits, medicinal plants, and building materials (Angelsen et al., 2014).

In East Africa, dependence is even more visible. More than 80 per cent of households rely on wood fuel — mainly firewood and charcoal — for cooking and heating (International Energy Agency, 2023). Forest foods such as wild fruits, mushrooms, nuts, and edible insects also provide important nutrition for millions of rural families, particularly during droughts or poor harvest seasons (FAO, 2022).

For communities living near forests, this reliance can be even greater. Studies of forest-adjacent households in East Africa show that forest products can account for 30–40 per cent of total household income, especially among poorer households with limited access to land or formal employment (Angelsen et al., 2014).

Beyond household livelihoods, forests underpin major sectors of the regional economy. Forested watersheds regulate water flows that supply cities, irrigate farms, and power hydropower plants. Forest ecosystems protect soils that sustain export crops such as coffee, tea, and bananas. Biodiversity-rich forests also support tourism — one of East Africa’s fastest-growing economic sectors.

These contributions align strongly with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Healthy forests support SDG 15 (Life on Land) through biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration. They contribute to SDG 13 (Climate Action) by absorbing carbon and stabilising rainfall patterns. Forest-based livelihoods also advance SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) by strengthening rural incomes and food security (United Nations, 2023).

Yet despite their immense value, forests across East Africa remain under pressure.

The region continues to lose hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest every year, largely due to agricultural expansion, charcoal production, and infrastructure development (FAO, 2023). Uganda alone has lost nearly half of its forest cover since 1990, shrinking from about 4.5 million hectares to roughly 2.3 million hectares today (National Forestry Authority, 2024).

This loss is not only an environmental concern — it represents the erosion of natural infrastructure that supports economic activity and human wellbeing. 

When forests disappear, communities lose more than trees. They lose fuel, food, income, and water security — the very foundations of rural economies.

Grace Nafula’s small forest offers a glimpse of what a different development pathway could look like. The honey from her beehives now provides a steady income for her household, while the trees protect her soil, regulate water, and shelter the crops that feed her family.

“If the forest grows,” she says, “our lives grow too.”

Her words capture a reality often overlooked in economic planning: forests are not simply environmental assets — they are foundational infrastructure for livelihoods, food systems, and climate resilience. For millions of East Africans, forests function much like roads, water systems, or energy grids: they sustain economic activity and reduce vulnerability.

Recognising this role requires a shift in policy and financing priorities.

First, governments must begin treating forests as productive national assets within development planning and public investment frameworks, including national accounting systems and infrastructure strategies (World Bank, 2022). Second, stronger support is needed for community forest management and local enterprises, which evidence shows can improve both forest conservation and rural incomes when communities have secure rights and incentives (FAO, 2023). Third, international climate finance — including carbon markets, restoration funds, and nature-based solutions financing — must be scaled up to reward countries that protect and restore forest landscapes (UNEP, 2023).

These actions are essential not only for environmental protection but also for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land) (United Nations, 2023).

As the world marks the International Day of Forests in 2026, the message for East Africa is increasingly clear: protecting forests is not a luxury — it is an economic necessity.

The region’s forests already support millions of livelihoods, stabilise climate systems, and underpin agriculture and energy security. But without sustained financing and stronger policy recognition, this natural infrastructure will continue to erode.

The real test for governments, investors, and development partners is whether forests will finally be financed, governed, and valued like the critical infrastructure they truly are.

References

• Angelsen, A. et al. (2014). Environmental Income and Rural Livelihoods. CIFOR.
• FAO (2022). Forests and Rural Livelihoods.
• FAO (2023). Global Forest Resources Assessment.
• International Energy Agency (2023). Africa Energy Outlook.
• National Forestry Authority (2024). Uganda Forest Status Report.
• UNEP (2023). State of Finance for Nature.
• United Nations (2023). Sustainable Development Goals Report.
• World Bank (2022). Forests, Trees and Landscapes for Sustainable Development.

Powering Opportunity: How Solar Energy Can Transform Livelihoods in East Africa

 

Source: www.pv-magazine.com  

At sunrise on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kisumu’s Dunga beach in Kenya, fisherman Peter Okello pushes his wooden canoe into the water. For years, his biggest worry was the weather. Today, it is fuel. The cost of petrol for small boat engines has steadily risen, eating into the modest income that feeds his family. “Sometimes we catch enough fish,” he says, “but the fuel takes the money.”

A few kilometres away, a solar-powered cold storage unit hums quietly near the landing site. Fishermen like Peter can now store their catch longer without rushing to sell it cheaply before it spoils. The facility operates on solar energy, thereby reducing costs and minimising waste. For Peter, clean energy is no longer an abstract idea — it is the difference between profit and loss.

Across East Africa, stories like Peter’s reveal a simple truth: the region’s green economy will only succeed if it improves the everyday livelihoods of ordinary people.

The East African region holds some of the world’s most promising renewable energy resources. The region receives between 1,500 and 3,000 kilowatt-hours of solar radiation per square metre each year, making solar energy particularly viable for rural electrification and small enterprises. Yet Africa still accounts for less than 2% of global solar photovoltaic capacity, highlighting the gap between potential and actual deployment.

Access to electricity also remains uneven. In recent years, about 79% of households in Kenya have access to electricity, while Rwanda has reached nearly 60%. In contrast, Uganda’s access rate is about 42%, Tanzania's is around 36%, and Burundi's remains below 10%, among the lowest in the world. These disparities mean that millions of households and small businesses still operate without reliable energy.

In rural districts like Kayunga District, farmer Sarah Namuli has begun using a small solar-powered irrigation pump to water her vegetables during dry spells. Before, she depended entirely on rainfall. Now she can grow crops throughout the year. Her harvests are larger, and her children’s school fees are more manageable.

These kinds of practical energy solutions are at the heart of an inclusive green economy. When renewable energy powers irrigation systems, cold chains, agro-processing mills, and rural clinics, it multiplies economic opportunities across communities.

Off-grid solar is already transforming access. Globally, around 490 million people now receive electricity through off-grid solar technologies, including solar home systems and mini-grids. Between 2019 and 2022 alone, about 70 million people gained electricity through such solutions, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for a large share. In fact, more than half of the new electricity connections in parts of Africa during recent years have come from off-grid solar systems.

East Africa has been a major driver of this growth. In Kenya alone, over three million households now use off-grid solar products, making it one of the largest solar markets in the developing world.

Yet progress will not happen automatically.

Large-scale energy projects often prioritise feeding national grids or urban industries while rural producers remain underserved. If the green transition is designed without local livelihoods in mind, it risks widening inequality rather than reducing it.

East Africa must therefore prioritise decentralised energy systems — mini-grids, solar-powered enterprises, and community-level solutions. These technologies can reach remote communities faster and at lower cost than traditional grid expansion.

Financing will also be critical. Small farmers, fisherfolk, and rural entrepreneurs often cannot afford the upfront cost of solar pumps, cold storage systems, or energy-efficient equipment and other options for Productive Use of Solar Energy (PUSE). Blended finance, microcredit, and targeted public subsidies can help bridge this gap.

Regional cooperation will also matter. Initiatives led by organisations such as the East African Community (EAC) institutions like the East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE) are already promoting cross-border power trade and renewable energy investment. With better planning, these efforts can ensure that clean energy strengthens regional value chains in agriculture, fisheries, and manufacturing.

Ultimately, the success of East Africa’s green economy will not be measured only in megawatts installed or emissions reduced. It will be measured in whether fishermen like Peter can keep more of their earnings, farmers like Sarah can grow food even during droughts, and rural communities can build resilient livelihoods.

The green transition must do more than power cities and industries. It must power opportunity — from fishing villages on Lake Victoria to farms, markets, and small enterprises across East Africa.