ECOWAS Regional Certification Scheme Inception Meeting

IRENA supports the establishment of a regional certification scheme for off-grid solar PV installers in West Africa, to be implemented in all members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). 

The scheme, known as the ‘ECOWAS Certification for Sustainable Energy Skills (ECSES)’ plans to begin with the certification of off-grid solar PV installer, and the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and the ECOWAS member states envisage ECSES to certify skills in multiple technologies of various target groups across the region in the years to come.

The overall objective of the scheme and this meeting was to support the development of renewable energy markets in West Africa by improving the skills of renewable energy professions through a regional certification system, which is unified and harmonized across ECOWAS's member states.