National child project under the GEF Africa Mini-grids Program Eswatini Project Objective: Supporting access to clean energy by increasing the financial viability, and promoting scaled-up commercial investment, in renewable energy minigrids in Eswatini with a focus on cost-reduction levers and innovative business models. Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency. All the people of Eswatini stand to benefit from accelerated investments in clean energy. All taxpayers and electricity users stand to benefit from more cost-effective ways to deliver clean energy to end users. More specifically, rural communities currently without access to electricity will benefit from solutions that will enable affordable, clean energy to be delivered to their communities as well as the multiple, broader socio-economic benefits that will accrue, including a healthier environment, opportunities for income generating activities and improved management of natural resources.     Very directly, the specific communities in Eswatini who will be the recipients of the pilot projects will benefit from access to clean energy and the multiple associated socio-economic benefits to their communities. Both pilot communities will be engaged in the design of the pilot initiatives and the selection of productive uses.     Across all outputs, at least 459 beneficiaries are expected to benefit directly as recipients of electricity access, recipients of small businesses support and/or subsidized electrical appliances, recipients of training, as participants in the regional Community of Practice, participants in National Dialogue and participants in the national knowledge network.     Guidance from the Gender Analysis and Action Plan will help ensure that gender equity and empowerment remain a key part of the project implementation, while disaggregated indicators as well as monitoring and reporting will enable an understanding of gender specific impacts that can inform improved future planning and decision-making. Particular attention will be given to strengthening the role of women as beneficiaries, decision-makers, participants, management and ownership of mini-grid systems or energised end-uses as detailed in the gender action plan.    Socio-economic impacts will also be tracked more broadly for both pilot projects to allow refinements and inform future planning and decision-making. By linking this information back to the appropriate forums and specifically to inform the development of the Mini-grid Roadmap and Vision, benefits can be replicated and enhanced in future mini-grid developments.     The overall program is expected to mitigate significant amounts of CO2 emissions and will be accompanied by co-benefits. At the national level, direct and consequential (indirect) emission reductions are expected to occur. The lifetime global environmental benefits that will accrue from the adoption of clean energy minigrid technologies is estimated at 2,444 tCO2e. Indirect emission reductions amounting to 54,000 tCO2e are expected due to investments in minigrids completed during the 10-year influence period following project completion, predominantly through the replication of the sustainable technology value chain. An additional 6000 tCO2e are allocated to the AMP regional child project out of an overall 54,000 tCO2e for this country.