The Energy Enterprise Coach (EEC), launched by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), helps to scale SMEs in Asia and Africa engaged in clean energy solutions. The programme provides business development services through e-learning, cohort trainings, and individual mentoring. Support addresses key market barriers such as business planning, marketing, scaling, innovation, and access to finance. The EEC also strengthens local financial institutions’ capacity and facilitates matchmaking events to improve SME financing access. Key success factors include the flexible, context-specific approach, the impactful e-learning platform, and one-to-one mentorship, which together build SME capabilities, and aim to improve investment readiness to help build a self-sustaining clean energy financing ecosystem.
Netherlands Enterprise Agency – Energy Enterprise Coach in Africa and Asia
Abstract
The Energy Enterprise Coach (EEC) was launched by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) in 2022. The programme acts as a one-stop shop, providing business development services (BDS) to SMEs involved in the clean energy sector who are looking to grow and scale their operations. It is active in a number of countries across Asia and Africa including: Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda.
The EEC focuses on SMEs who are offering products, technologies or services which provide access to clean cooking and electrification. It also targets those SMEs who distribute such solutions along value chains. Eligible technologies include higher and lower tier clean cooking solutions, biodigesters, organic fertilisers and off-grid solar. The programme aims to address six key market barriers commonly facing SMEs involved in clean energy in these contexts including:
Business planning and strategy
Marketing and sales
Scaling
Innovation and automation practices
Distribution
Financing access
The EEC provides tailored support according to the growth stage of the firm, including early-stage, growth-stage, and advanced. In general, cross-cutting themes such as financial management, accounting, and marketing strategy are addressed. Three different support trajectories are offered:
E-learning: Delivered through an online platform featuring 10 courses in total. Support is provided through sector-specific examples, case studies, tools, and assignments, covering topics such as business fundamentals, financial accounting, sales and marketing. E-learners also have access to E-mentorship support. Participants can receive a certificate upon completion.
Cohort trainings: Physical or digital sessions which gather SMEs working on the same clean energy technology and/or with similar business development needs. The cohorts combine trainings and assignments.
Individual mentoring: One-to-one mentoring to the SME. The exact format of the mentoring provided, including its frequency and location, depend on the individual needs of the SME. It covers topics on financial accounting, financial modelling, sales and marketing, and improving bankability.
Each application is assessed based on programme requirements as well as the SME’s motivation, growth potential and willingness to scale. At least 25% of participating businesses in the EEC should be women-owned. The type of support provided is tailored to the SME according to their motivation, growth stage and the resources available through the implementing institutions, which vary by country and funding round. Support is typically provided over a six-month period. SMEs may reapply in subsequent calls for proposals to pursue a different support trajectory.
The EEC is implemented by NIRAS, which manages the overall contract, including organising calls and coordinating support activities. For implementing support, NIRAS has contracted Intellicap, and together they have assigned national and regional contract BDS providers to carry out trainings and assist SMEs in preparing applications.
Beyond directly providing support to SMEs, the EEC and RVO also work to improve financing access through:
Addressing knowledge gaps among local financial institutions on renewable energy financing
Organising matchmaking events where SMEs can pitch their projects to financial institutions
The programme has witnessed strong uptake, with 120 SMEs having successfully completed the E-Learning programme, 1022 participants having participated in cohort training and 55 entrepreneurs having received individual mentoring sessions.
The EEC was initiated by the Energy and Climate department of the RVO, and financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DANIDA (Denmark’s development cooperation under the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the European Commission. It was developed under three programmes, including EnDev and its associated programmes, the African Biogas Component (ABC) and the Higher Tier Cooking Component (HTCC). The EEC was designed as a designated instrument to address market barriers and improve financing access for SMEs in the clean energy sector across Asia and Africa. All three programmes have budgets allocated for the EEC programme. The EEC was initially piloted in Kenya and Uganda and then subsequently expanded to other countries.
A number of lessons were learned during the design and implementation of the programme:
Engagement of national experts: The programme has demonstrated the importance of engaging national experts. Their knowledge of the local financial landscape and markets, such as which enterprises to target and which actors to involve, proved essential both for programme design and in delivering impactful support. However, identifying suitable national experts during the design and implementation stages of the programme proved to be challenging in certain contexts.
Tailoring support to local contexts: Another lesson learned is that support methods should be tailored to local circumstances. In Cambodia, for instance, group cohort trainings proved less effective, as many participants were women balancing household responsibilities alongside running their businesses. To address this, the national expert shifted from joint sessions to a door-to-door support approach, which proved more impactful. In remote areas with limited internet access, SMEs also faced difficulties applying through the online platform. National experts therefore offered direct help to these SMEs in preparing their application. This underscores the importance of tailoring support to the respective local context to maximise impact.
Ensuring flexibility in provided support: E-learning is available for all SMEs, and cohort and mentorship training can be accessed by adhering to a minimum set of criteria. Originally, this was done by a graduation system, but more flexibility has been integrated into the programme. This caused more advanced SMEs, who already learned the basics to directly receive mentorship training. This flexibility increased accessibility and ensured that support was better aligned with the SME’s stage of development.
E learning platform: Despite some limitations, such as its reliance on internet access, the platform has proven to be a valuable and flexible tool. It enables SMEs to advance at their own pace based on their specific needs, whilst limiting the resource burden placed on the implementing institution. As such, it has become an impactful tool to build background knowledge and for covering the basics of SME administrative and business management.
Tailored approach in providing support: The one-to-one mentorship has enabled national experts to provide tailored support which directly addresses the needs of the SME. Additionally, based on learnings from implementing this programme, RVO has adopted a flexible approach on delivering this type of support, tailoring it to the needs of the local context to maximise impact.
Facilitating access to finance: The programme works to create an enabling environment that addresses key market barriers faced by SMEs in the clean energy sector, with the goal of making them investment ready. Additional efforts, such as matchmaking events, further complement such efforts. These measures have the potential to reduce dependence on external grants and international institutions to instead create a self-sustaining ecosystem in which local commercial banks play a key role in providing SMEs with the necessary financing for growth and scaling.
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