The DREEM Partners Conference 2025 brought together more than 100 stakeholders from Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to chart a shared path for sustainable agricultural transformation powered by clean energy. Held from July 9th to 10th in Nairobi, the conference focused on scaling the use of solar energy in agriculture under the theme “Unlocking the Full Potential of Productive Use of Energy (PUSE) for Sustainable Agricultural Transformation in the EAC Region.”
Setting the Agenda for Clean Energy in Agriculture
Policymakers, private-sector leaders, development partners, and farmer cooperatives gathered to discuss not just the deployment of solar technologies, but the building of ecosystems that make productive use of solar energy (PUSE) sustainable. Organized by the Kenya Climate Innovation Center (KCIC) in collaboration with Heifer International Uganda and WWF Tanzania, the event aimed to strengthen cross-country collaboration for energy-smart agricultural systems.
Key Stakeholder Insights
Opening the conference, KCIC CEO Joseph Murabula emphasized that unlocking PUSE’s potential requires deliberate ecosystem-building. Since the March 2025 launch of DREEM Hub Kenya, 23 cooperatives and farmer groups, representing over 5,234 farmers, have been onboarded. Murabula highlighted KCIC’s “hub and spoke” model, linking finance, policy, skills development, and market access under one unified framework.
Samuel Booth Passmore from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation shared insights from the foundation’s decade-long investment in East Africa’s clean energy sector. Through its energy access program, Mott has helped leverage $25 million by 2025, supporting over 200 local enterprises and improving energy access for more than one million people across the region. Passmore emphasized building resilient local ecosystems that endure beyond donor cycles.
Real-World Innovations Highlighted
The conference wasn’t just about ideas, it showcased practical solutions. WWF Tanzania presented a case study on solar-powered drying solutions for Octopus fishing in Songo songo Island, illustrating diverse applications of agrisolar beyond farming.
During the exhibition walkthrough, participants interacted with local entrepreneurs and technology providers offering products such as solar milk coolers & pumps and hybrid dairy equipment. These innovations reinforced the event’s blend of strategy and hands-on solutions.
Sustainability and Future Outlook
A central focus was ensuring the long-term sustainability of DREEM Hubs in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Structured under a hub-and-spoke model, these hubs act as coordination centers connecting cooperatives and small enterprises with financing, technical support, and market opportunities.
Discussions explored how to secure multi-source funding from banks, impact investors, and multilateral agencies to maintain hub operations beyond the initial program cycle.
Closing Reflections
The conference closed with reflections from KCIC leadership and a collective call to action: making productive use of solar energy a cornerstone of East Africa’s agricultural future.
By bringing together public and private actors under a shared mission, the DREEM Partners Conference 2025 marked a vital step in aligning climate action with community-driven development. As stakeholders dispersed, the message was clear: East Africa’s agricultural growth story is increasingly tied to clean energy, not as a short-term initiative, but as a lasting ecosystem.
