NCST Officiates PPP (Public and Private Partnerships) launch in Renewable energy

Science Granting Councils Initiative, also known as SGCI is a 5-year project jointly introduced and funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and South Africa’s National Research Foundation (NRF); its aim is to strengthen the capacities for councils in selected Sub-Saharan African Countries in order to support research and evidence-based policies that will contribute to economic and social development.
The project runs through four themes, the first is to strengthen the research management capacity of Africa’s Science Granting Councils; secondly to strengthen Africa’s Science Granting Councils as Champions of indicators in public policy making; thirdly is to strengthen partnerships among Africa’s Science Granting Councils and the private sector, and the last theme is to build partnerships and networks among Science Granting Councils and other science system actors in Sub-Saharan Africa through annual regional meetings and fora.
Operating under theme three, NCST organized a launch at Sogecoa Golden Peacock Hotel, on the 3rd of December 2018, for the PPP (Public and Private Partnerships) in Renewable Energy, with the aim of promoting its partnership with different research institutions for the purpose of co-funding the demand-led collaborative research projects addressing issues of relevance to the private sector mainly focusing on Renewable Energy. Public and Private Partnerships in context with SGCI denote the linkages between the publicly-funded research entities and the industry, particularly the manufacturing sector.
The conference involved different presentations including PPP projects grantees and their partners; LUANAR and MUST, as well as one organization from the private sector, Green Impact Solutions. LUANAR concentrated their presentation on the implementation of the solar powered milking machine which would help smallholder farmers in low cost and enhanced milking practices. MUST, on the other hand, had their interest in Biomass as it would act as a substitute and cure to hydropower demand usage failure and reliance; in this case their energy comes from the process of Gasification – turning of waste matter to renewable energy by converting biomass into a gas that can be combusted in an engine. Green Impact Solutions exhibited on Biogas – the mixture of different gases with the use of raw materials in the absence of oxygen to produce energy.
Green Impact Solutions presenting on renewable energy generator, Biogas.

At the end of the event, NCST announced the launch of the PPP. NCST in collaboration with SGCI is yet to partner and fund other renewable energy projects, to reduce power challenges in the country.