Ahead of the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum & Expo 2026, scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from 27–29 October, the Youth Sustainable Development Network (YSDN) is pleased to announce its membership in the Agri-Energy Coalition, a global alliance of organisations working to accelerate the integration of renewable energy into agricultural and food systems.
The Coalition brings together leading institutions and stakeholders across the energy, agriculture, water, nutrition and climate sectors to advance integrated development approaches, strengthen policy coordination, unlock financing and support the adoption of sustainable technologies and business models.
For YSDN, joining the Coalition represents an important milestone in its long-term strategy to deepen its work at the intersection of clean energy, agricultural development and economic opportunity, while strengthening the partnerships needed to deliver practical solutions at scale.
Building on a Track Record of Practical Implementation
Over the years, YSDN has worked to demonstrate how decentralised renewable energy can address challenges facing agricultural communities, particularly where limited access to reliable energy affects productivity, increases operating costs and contributes to post-harvest losses.
In 2021, YSDN implemented its solar irrigation intervention in Lagos, Nigeria, demonstrating the practical application of clean energy in agricultural production and its potential to support farming livelihoods.
Building on this experience, the organisation has progressively expanded its work into solar-powered cooling and cold-chain solutions, developing and implementing initiatives aimed at improving agricultural storage, reducing post-harvest losses and strengthening market opportunities for farmers and agricultural enterprises. Through its sustainable cooling interventions, YSDN has continued to explore how renewable energy infrastructure can support more resilient and economically viable agricultural value chains.
Together, these experiences have helped shape YSDN’s broader strategic direction: moving beyond individual technology deployments towards integrated, commercially sustainable agri-energy solutions that connect clean energy access with agricultural productivity, enterprise development and long-term economic opportunities.
Strengthening Partnerships for Africa’s Agri-Energy Transition
Africa’s agricultural transformation requires stronger connections between energy access, food production, infrastructure development and financing. While renewable energy technologies offer significant opportunities, their long-term impact depends on viable business models, supportive policies, investment and partnerships across sectors.
The Agri-Energy Coalition seeks to address these challenges through five interconnected priorities: improving integrated development approaches, strengthening policy alignment, unlocking agri-energy financing, advancing business-model and technology innovation, and supporting cross-sector collaboration.
These priorities closely align with YSDN’s mandate and its growing focus on developing practical solutions that respond to the needs of agricultural communities while creating opportunities for investment and sustainable enterprise development.
Participation in the Coalition provides an opportunity for YSDN to contribute its implementation experience, engage with institutions working across the agricultural and energy sectors, and explore partnerships that can support the development and expansion of commercially sustainable solutions.
Commenting on the membership, Damilola Hamid Balogun, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of YSDN, stated:
“Over the years, our work at YSDN has demonstrated how clean energy can strengthen agricultural productivity, improve livelihoods and create opportunities across local communities, particularly through our interventions in solar irrigation and sustainable cooling. Joining the Agri-Energy Coalition is a natural progression of that work and aligns strongly with our long-term ambition to scale practical solutions across Africa. We look forward to building new partnerships, strengthening investment pathways and translating the experience we have gained into more ambitious projects with lasting impact.”
Looking Ahead: From Practical Experience to Greater Scale
YSDN’s membership comes at an important time as the organisation prepares to participate in the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum & Expo 2026 in Kigali, where stakeholders from across the off-grid solar industry will convene to discuss market development, investment, innovation and opportunities to accelerate clean energy deployment.
The Forum presents an opportunity for YSDN to deepen conversations around the productive use of renewable energy, share lessons from its practical interventions and engage potential partners on opportunities to expand agri-energy solutions across African markets.
Looking ahead, YSDN intends to build on its existing experience by strengthening institutional collaboration, advancing project development opportunities and exploring investment partnerships that can support the expansion of its agri-energy portfolio.
The organisation also recognises the importance of connecting project-level experience with wider policy, financing and market-development conversations to create the conditions for sustainable growth.
Through its membership in the Agri-Energy Coalition, YSDN looks forward to contributing to collective efforts to accelerate clean energy adoption across Africa’s food systems, while continuing to develop and deliver practical solutions that strengthen agricultural productivity, economic opportunity and climate resilience.
Learn more about the Agri-Energy Coalition: https://gogla.org/agri-energy-coalition/