African Energy Futures Hub Call for Proposals Launch

LAUNCH Event

African Energy Futures Hub Call for Proposals Launch, 3 December 2025, 14:00 - 16:00 CAT

Connecting Ideas, Institutions, and Impact

Building Africa’s energy research capacity. Locally led analysis, focussed on the socio-economic, development, and political economy context, will lead to stronger local and international African voices, better policy and greater investment. There are things that need fixing: On the 3rd of December 2025, with generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation, African Energy Futures launched our first call for proposals for African based institutions to host an energy research hub. Hubs will lead collaborative research, train the next generation, and coordinate a community of multi-disciplinary experts that can work with policymakers and other stakeholders to drive investment in energy. Overtime AEF hubs will combine to share learnings and raise the African voice on energy and economic diversification.

Agenda

World Energy Outlook 2025 - Under the Hood

The IEA will present a custom view of their recently launched World Energy Outlook 2025 report, focussing on the implications for Africa. Given the audience appreciation for modelling they will also include a short technical section on how the modelling is done and provide their views on how African research can contribute to global outputs.

Panel on the genesis of the AEF

The panel will reflect on the need for and genesis of African Energy Futures, focussing on driving capacity building and the role of energy in development.

Rose Mutiso, Energy for Growth Hub
Saliem Fakir, African Climate Foundation
Meron Tesfamichael, AISESA

Request for Proposal Launch

Steve Nicholls, the African Energy Futures Director, will introduce the AEF and its mission and launch the first Hub call-for-proposals. He will describe in detail the AEF two-step call for proposal process, eligibility rules, requirements, and invite African based research institutions to participate in this first round.

Event Speakers

Cassady Walters

Cassady Walters is Vice President, Power, at The Rockefeller Foundation. She joined the Foundation in 2022 and is responsible for shaping the strategy of key program initiatives, including the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and Mission 300.

Rose M. Mutiso

Rose M. Mutiso is a Science Advisor for the Energy for Growth Hub and the Founder and Executive Director of the African Tech Futures Lab (ATFL), a venture currently being incubated at the Hub. Rose previously was Research Director at the Energy for Growth Hub. She served as a Senior Fellow in the Office of International Climate and Clean Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), where she led DOE’s engagement on technology and policy dimensions of energy access in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Saliem Fakir

Saliem is a global thought leader at the intersection of climate and development. With a career spanning over two decades, he has been instrumental in founding transformative organisations, including the African Climate Foundation, where he serves as Executive Director. Under his leadership, the Foundation has become a beacon for innovative climate solutions across the continent. As Chairman of the Atlantic Special Economic Zone in South Africa, Saliem champions the advancement of a green industrial hub dedicated to clean technology, exemplifying his commitment to sustainable development.

Meron Tesfamichael

Meron Tesfamichael is the Operations Director at AISESA. She was previously the Director of WRI Africa’s Energy Program, focusing on energy access and clean energy transition. She supports sustainable and reliable energy solutions for underserved communities and helps countries create transition pathways aligned with climate and development goals. Previously, she was a Senior Research Fellow at UCL, researching energy transition in sub-Saharan Africa. Meron has led projects on energy access, governance, and climate-compatible policies. She holds a Ph.D. in politics and advocates for integrated, transdisciplinary approaches to Africa’s energy challenges.

Stéphanie Bouckaert

Stéphanie Bouckaert is Head of Demand Sectors Unit in the Energy Modelling Office at the International Energy Agency (IEA). She is coordinating and leading the analysis and modelling of end-use sectors (buildings, industry, transport) for the World Energy Outlook, the IEA’s flagship publication and other major IEA publications.

Daniel Wetzel

Daniel Wetzel leads the newly created Tracking Sustainable Transitions unit within the World Energy Outlook, which tracks how policy measures are actually moving the needle on clean energy transitions, energy access, and energy employment. He was one of the lead author’s on the IEA’s Sustainable Recovery report, the IEA’s Sustainable Recovery Tracker, and coordinated IEA’s co-custodianship on Tracking Progress on Sustainable Development Goal 7.1: Universal Access.