Understanding what drives the community, what energy can unlock for rural livelihoods, and what activities entrepreneurial households are engaging in continues to be a challenge. We took a stab at understanding what it takes to achieve this at a “national scale”. The idea was to explore how bottom-up local demands can shape national-scale investments.

The following briefs share some initial insights from our work in Uganda as part of the Columbia World Projects’ initiative “Using Data to Catalyze Energy Investments”. Read more about the project here, and look out for more insights shared through future blog posts on this website.

Cost-Effectively Capturing Non-Household Electricity Demands Catalytic to Rural Growth

This new brief focuses on the cost-effective execution of the national survey, which covered tens of thousands of locations at just $10 per site - using innovative surveying methods and technologies. It describes how the survey achieved high accuracy with minimal site visits for gathering critical data to support rural electrification efforts. Read the brief here.

Productive Uses of Energy in Uganda

Our latest policy brief, Productive Uses of Energy in Uganda, presents key insights from Columbia World Projects’ initiative on productive uses of energy (PUEs) in Uganda. By mapping energy-intensive businesses and analyzing their reliance on diesel versus electric power, the findings reveal critical opportunities for electrification to boost economic growth, improve livelihoods, and support data-driven energy planning. Read the brief here.