Senegal has set a goal of ensuring widespread electricity supply by 2029. However, this goal is still far from being achieved in many rural communities. This is not only due to a lack of infrastructure or funding, but also to deficiencies in governance and collaboration: the local population is rarely involved in determining their energy needs, data on electricity supply is incomplete and fragmented, and municipal authorities lack suitable tools to effectively advocate for investments. Women and girls are particularly affected by these deficiencies. They spend many hours every week collecting firewood and have limited access to economic and social opportunities that could open up a reliable electricity supply.
LEAP Transparency – the Local Electricity Access Programme – is a national and local multi-stakeholder platform that brings together state authorities, municipal administrations, energy providers, investors, civil society, as well as women and young people. Together, they are committed to sustainably improving access to electricity, promoting the productive use of energy, and strengthening climate resilience.
In 20 municipalities in nine regions of Senegal, local multi-stakeholder groups (MSGs) meet regularly. The national LEAP multi-stakeholder group was officially established by a ministerial decree (No. 019176 of May 28, 2025). Under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum and Mining (MEPM), it brings together key decision-makers and other important actors from the Senegalese energy sector, including the energy agencies ASER and ANER as well as the electricity provider SENELEC. Together with the Senegalese government, LEAP also holds the co-chairmanship of the „Justice and Equality“ working group within the framework of Senegal’s “Just Energy Transition Partnership” (JETP).
The LEAP approach is based on three pillars: data, dialogue, and action. These are implemented by local and national multi-stakeholder groups, as well as the monitoring groups from the population that are affiliated with them.
The project, funded by the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), is being implemented by the Berlin Governance Platform in collaboration with the Association pour le développement durable Yamalé (Yamalé Association). The focus is on the further development and consolidation of the participatory system for monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning (MEAL) in eight pilot communities in Senegal.
The project builds on a previous grant from GIZ under the Multi-Actor Partnerships (MAP) program. Between January and August 2023, an international expert was funded to develop the original MEAL methodology.
In each municipality, local MEAL monitoring groups take on the data collection. These small teams consist of five to six members of the local population and are integrated into the respective LEAP multi-stakeholder groups. Using the digital application KoboCollect, they survey representative samples of households and economic enterprises throughout the municipality area, including remote villages and settlements.
The collected data are then reviewed and evaluated in participatory events together with the local LEAP groups. Based on this, the participants develop local energy action plans that are tailored to the needs and priorities of the population.
In July 2025, a national MEAL workshop was also held. Representatives from the Ministry of Energy, the private sector, technical partner organizations, and civil society came together to standardize the collection methods, strengthen common quality standards for the data, and align the MEAL system with the national goals of comprehensive energy supply and a fair energy transition.
Beyond data collection and planning, the project places a special emphasis on the third pillar of the LEAP approach: concrete action. The local multi-stakeholder groups are currently being intensively supported in implementing their data-based action plans through public outreach and advocacy. This includes, in particular, fostering the exchange with energy utilities, investors, and government agencies to ensure that the needs identified locally are translated into concrete investments and policy commitments.
Through this continuous monitoring, it is intended to ensure that the locally acquired insights not only feed into the planning process but actually contribute to improving the power supply.
In the first six months of the project implementation, the following results were achieved:
Completion of the initial surveys in all eight municipalities: A total of 2,492 households were surveyed (100.44 % of the target value). The surveys covered 747 of the 757 planned localities.
Training of 65 local survey teams, including 16 women from the respective communities.
Development of local energy action plans in four municipalities. The plans of the remaining four municipalities should be completed by December 2025.
Conducting a national MEAL workshop on July 29, 2025. The results were presented on August 1, 2025, at the eleventh meeting of the national LEAP multi-stakeholder group chaired by the Director of Electricity of the MEPM.
Involving an experienced MEAL specialist to standardize the collection instruments across communities and strengthen the methodological quality.
Provision of the initial data to the Ministry of Energy (MEPM) to update the ministerial data base and to align investment planning more closely with the actual needs of the municipalities.
Gender equality is an important component of the project and is taken into account both in data collection and in the decision-making and participation processes. The collected data are broken down by gender. Women's organizations and youth groups are also directly represented in the local multi-stakeholder groups.
The project takes into account that women are particularly affected by insufficient electricity supply. This concerns both the time-consuming procurement of energy for the household and the limited access to economic employment opportunities.
The goal is therefore not only to consider women as beneficiaries of measures, but to actively involve them as decision-makers in local energy policy. Strengthening their participation remains a central task of the project. Targeted measures are planned for the next phase of the survey.
An interim survey is planned for April and May 2026 to measure progress against the baseline situation and evaluate the impact of the local action plans and advocacy measures.
Since 2022
Yamale Sustainable Development Association
