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GVEP rebrands to Energy 4 Impact

24/07/2016

To mark its 10th birthday, GVEP is rebranding. The new identity includes a new name and logo, which reflects more accurately who we are and what our aims are for the next 10 years and beyond.

GVEP International was established in 2006 with the objective of increasing access to modern energy services to help reduce poverty in developing countries. While this remains our objective today, we have evolved into a different entity with different priorities and strategies. It has become increasingly clear that the name no longer suits us: we are not global, as we are focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, we are not village-based, and we are no longer a partnership.

Our 10 year milestone is great opportunity to reflect on achievements: 12 million people with access to clean, sustainable energy; 3,000 businesses supported; 8,000 jobs created; 9 million tonnes of CO2 avoided; and $90 million raised to support the development of a wide range of businesses offering, small-scale, decentralised energy solutions to off-grid areas in Africa.

Also, while we celebrate the progress that has been made, we recognise that there is much more to achieve, and our new name succinctly communicates our growing ambitions.

We have kept the strapline ‘accelerating access to energy’ as this is still our objective. But we have changed our name to Energy 4 Impact to signify that we put great importance on the impact that access to energy brings. We want our brand to communicate that delivering energy access is not an end in itself, but that the ultimate end is to deliver change. Until now, development institutions have spent too much money on activities and projects that haven’t yielded results. We are here to deliver results, benefits and impact.

Impact is measurable in two interconnected ways: economic growth and improvements to people’s lives. Lack of access to clean energy is holding back GDP growth in Africa. Better access means higher productivity and more opportunities for income generation in industries ranging from healthcare to telecommunications, education and agriculture.

Access to clean energy also has a profound impact on people’s quality of life. Sustainable energy is not only vital for daily tasks such as cooking, homework, cooling and heating, but it also means better access to technology and more opportunities to earn a decent living.

We also recognise that the better the provision, the higher the impact. Access to energy is important, but for the best results, that energy must be convenient, reliable, affordable, healthy and safe.

Our new name is designed to express succinctly these core objectives and values to new audiences, as we widen our reach and build new business relationships in the coming years. It also has the advantage of being flexible. Energy 4 Impact is the overarching brand, but variations can be used for ‘sub-brands’ such as Energy 4 People, Energy 4 Refugees or Energy 4 Agriculture, which remind us of the impact we can achieve an different fronts.

While our 10-year milestone is a great opportunity to look back on our achievements, it is also an opportunity to look to the future as an organisation with a new name and new identity that is about delivering impact for people.