Today, Rwanda’s Ministry of Environment through the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) launched the Rwanda Cooling Initiative’s Green On-Wage (R-COOL GO) financing mechanism – through which environmentally friendly refrigerators and air conditioners will be more widely accessible and affordable in Rwanda. Eligible salaried employees from the public and private sectors may request loans from participating banks to purchase new cooling appliances that meet strict performance ...Read More
Further funding speeds reach of Africa’s sustainable cooling and cold chain centre
Hosted by the University of Rwanda at its Kigali campus, the Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES) is set to scale-up its work and develop a pan-continental network of outreach centres – thanks to a further $3.3 million (£2.5 million) funding boost from the UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra). Dr Jeanne d’ Arc Mujawamariya, Minister of Environment, Government of Rwanda, said, “The immense benefit of this financial ...Read More
Global summit progresses clean cold refrigeration drive to support Africa’s farmers
On 19 October 2021, cold chain experts conducted a virtual summit for African policymakers and business leaders to explore sustainable solutions to help keep farmers’ produce fresh and get it to market quickly and efficiently – reducing food waste, boosting profits and creating jobs. The online event on Accelerating Sustainable Cold Chain in Africa highlighted the latest developments of the African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-chain (ACES). In addition to helping ...Read More
Africa’s Sustainable Cooling Centre Gets Multi-million Funding Boost
The new Africa Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES) has taken a major step forward in Rwanda with a $3.5 (£2.4 million) million funding boost. The UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) earmarked this contribution for the Centre’s design and technology kit-out, supporting the work of British universities (Birmingham, Heriot-Watt, Cranfield, London South Bank), the University of Rwanda and its hiring of the first-ACES ...Read More
REMA and UNEP U4E Launch Efficient Cooling Awareness Campaign
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) today launched a campaign to raise awareness of why, and how, to opt for refrigerators and air conditioners that save energy and money, rather than inefficient cooling solutions. The campaign, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme’s United for Efficiency team, is part of the Rwanda Cooling Initiative (R-COOL). R-COOL developed, and is now implementing, a National Cooling Strategy (NCS) on how to cost effectively switch ...Read More
Africa’s Clean Cooling Centre of Excellence Moves Closer to Boosting Farmer’s Livelihoods
The Rwandan Government has formally launched the new African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold Chain (ACES) that is hosted in-country by the University of Rwanda. At the inception meeting, a high-level cross-department team was established to lead the Centre’s development. In collaboration with the core technical partners - the University of Birmingham and UN Environment Programme’s United for Efficiency (UNEP U4E) - progress in setting up the centre has quickened with the ...Read More
New Way to Pay for Climate-friendly Fridges and Air Conditioners in Rwanda
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) announces partnership with Banque Populaire du Rwanda to offer on-bill financing to make energy-efficient and climate-friendly refrigerators and ACs more affordable. Countries in the East African Community are experiencing significant economic and population growth, which is driving ever-greater demand for domestic refrigerators and room air conditioners. Cooling products are essential for the health, well-being, and competitiveness of these ...Read More
African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-chain
A new African Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Cooling and Cold-chain (ACES) based in Rwanda will help get food to markets quickly and efficiently. It will help farmers and fisheries in Africa reduce the estimated 30% of food produced for human consumption which is lost due to poor post-harvest practices and handling – tackling hunger, under-nutrition, and environmental impacts, while boosting profits and creating jobs. ACES is a collaboration of the Governments of Rwanda and the United ...Read More
Rwanda Launches Mechanism to Promote Energy-efficient, Climate Friendly Cooling Solutions
Rwanda’s Business Development Fund (BDF), in partnership with the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA), UN Environment’s United for Efficiency initiative and the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), has launched the “Coolease’” financial mechanism to promote adoption of energy efficient and climate friendly cooling solutions in Rwanda. The Coolease scheme, one of the first of its kind in Africa, enables suppliers and consumers of air conditioning and refrigeration products to transition to the ...Read More
United for Efficiency Initiates Collaboration with Rwanda
On 20 March 2018, United for Efficiency launched work with Rwandan government, aiming to accelerate the transformation of the country’s cooling market. This will allow for energy-efficient and climate-friendly air conditioners and refrigerators to enter Rwandan markets, saving Rwandan customers $40M in their energy bills. The Rwanda Cooling Initiative, initiated in Kigali at the outset of the Africa Cooling Efficiency Conference, includes five action areas, most notably an energy efficiency ...Read More
