Overview of the Incubation Hub
The Rural Electrification Agency incubation hub is a pioneer initiative under the start-up
grants aimed at addressing the challenges experienced by start-ups and SME’s in developing
their business models and acquiring financing while also seeking to harvest and nurture
innovative approaches to rural electrification. The program seeks to create an alternative
strategy to foster innovative solutions with a focus on empowering start-up and SMEs with
requisite mentorships, trainings and financial assistance to be able to upscale and compete
favourably against traditional un-clean technologies currently flooding the energy market.
Additionally, it is expected that SMEs from the incubation hub will advance to compete with other qualified
companies from the GCIP booth camp for the UNIDO-GCIP grant. A total amount of $610,000 dollars
is provided by UNIDO for REA to design and operationalise a financial mechanism for
disbursement to the most innovative solutions selected through a transparent and
competitive evaluation process. Out of the total amount of $610,000, $480,000 is to
be disbursed to SMEs that qualify through the business, technical, financial,
and legal requirements of the project.