The Energy Efficient Lighting and Appliances (EELA) Project aims to support the development of vibrant markets for energy-efficient lighting and appliances across East and Southern Africa.

Efficient electricity use in homes, businesses and public facilities in these growing regions is one of the fastest and cheapest ways of accelerating sustainable development. The first phase of the EELA project started in August 2018 and its achievements included:

• Conducting baseline studies
• Developing a Theory of Change
• Stakeholder consultation
• Developing implementation arrangements and partnerships
• Validating the project intervention strategy

From 2019 – 2024, the EELA Project will implement a range of activities that focus on energy-efficient lighting and appliances .These will centre on four key areas across the 21 member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC):

• MARKET INCENTIVES will be introduced to stimulate the uptake of energy-efficient lighting and appliances. The project will offer supply chain actors technical assistance and financial incentives to deliver efficient and high-quality energy services.
• POLICIES AND REGULATIONS for energy efficient lighting and appliances will be improved through the project, with an eye to make them gender and climate responsive. This will involve developing a regional framework for lighting and harmonizing Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for various product groups. What's more, it will involve addressing environmental issues such as the safe ‘end of life’ disposal of lighting and appliances, disassembly and recycling.
• BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF GOVERNMENTS Standards setting and accreditation bodies, as well as testing facilities and the private sector will be an important part of the programme. We will run workshops, webinars and other events to achieve this objective. In addition, EELA will establish a network for sharing knowledge within the regions In particular, the project will offer testing centres support with equipment and capacity building.
• RAISING AWARENESS about the benefits of efficient technologies amongst market players, policy makers and consumers will be critical. Throughout the project, public information campaigns will promote the benefits of switching to energy-efficient lights and appliances. These will ddress women and men equally.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) implements and executes the EELA project with support from the East African Centre of Excellence for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (EACREEE) and the Southern African Development Community Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE). Technical support is provided by the Swedish Energy Agency (SEA) and CLASP. The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Corporation (Sida).