The two-year programme has three major components:

Establish a high-impact Clean Cooking Unit in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development through the Global Green Growth Institute. This will drive the national clean cooking ambition, lead the effective coordination of the clean cooking sector, and attract more financing for action into this sector.  

Secondly, through ICLEI Africa (Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa) support urban authorities within the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) in their role as enablers of market-led clean cooking access to deliver solutions for at least 6,000 households (30,000 people) within the informal settlements. Additionally, support the development of scalable business models to address barriers to clean cooking access, enabling deployment of context-appropriate clean cooking technologies in some of the hardest to reach markets.

And finally, through Modern Energy Cooking Services Program (MECS) expand a nationwide sustainable supply chain of at least 10,000 high quality electric cooking appliances; train at least 600 Ugandan technicians in the repair and maintenance of efficient electric cooking appliances; develop a national standards and labelling programme, and pilot institutional electric cooking in 100 schools across the country.

This programme builds on a successful innovative research pilots led by UK’s Loughborough University in partnership with the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) focusing on modern energy cooking services (MECS). The programme represents significant opportunities towards sustainable energy solutions, improved health, environmental conservation, household budget savings, convenience and saved time to engage in other productive activities.           

We have taken deliberate action in the electric cooking sector, based on the evidence that the technology, more especially the Electric Pressure Cookers (EPC) work. This cutting-edge technology is set to revolutionize cooking by combining convenience, efficiency, and versatility, allowing users at household, institutional and business levels to prepare delicious meals faster, safely and in a cleaner environment.

The EPC is designed to meet the needs of today’s busy households and has the capacity to cook for larger institutions. With its advanced technology and user-friendly features, it offers an unparalleled cooking experience, making it easier than ever to enjoy home-cooked meals. Some of the features of the product include:

fast and efficient cooking: the EPC reduces cooking time by up to 50% while preserving the nutrients and flavours of favourite meals
safety: reduces health hazards such as burns, pollution from other cooking methods ensuring a worry-free cooking experience
eco-friendly: designed to be energy-efficient, it helps reduce electricity consumption, making it an environmentally conscious choice for the kitchen
energy and cost savings: the EPC combines automation, robust insulation and pressurised cooking to deliver up to 50% savings on energy and cost

The programme will promote the use of other energy efficient electric cooking devices such as induction cookers, which equally save time, money and energy needed to cook meals and are versatile in preparing local meals.

With support from the UK Government, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development developed a National eCooking strategy that sets out the plan to promote adoption of eCooking from 1% today to 18% by 2030 (both grid and off-grid). Beyond the above, this will deliver additional benefits including improving the Asset Turnover Ratio for investments in the electricity (grid, mini-grid and off-grid) sector.

The launch today featured live cooking demonstrations and exclusive offers for the unusual partners. In addition to our key stakeholders, food enthusiasts, home cooks, and media representatives were invited to witness the culinary experience.

H.E. Kate Airey, the British High Commissioner to Uganda said:

“Clean energy is a UK priority. Our goal with promotion of Efficient Electric Cooking is to simplify the cooking process, minimise potential cooking hazards while supporting Uganda’s energy and climate action goals. We believe that these products will become essential tools in kitchens as electricity becomes more available across Uganda, helping families enjoy technology efficiencies while saving time and money; safeguarding their health; and contributing to environmental conservation.”

Hon. Dr. Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Minister for Energy added:

“We thank the UK Government and other partners for supporting Uganda to promote clean cooking. The launch of this programme marks a significant milestone in our journey, being the first such programme dedicated to eCooking. The programme will aim to address barriers, develop evidence and contribute to the development of the eCooking industry. Already our traditional cooking solutions – firewood and charcoal are increasingly becoming scarce and unaffordable.

“Therefore, the imperative to have alternative and affordable cleaner cooking solutions, which are available at scale, has never been more important. This is why the Government through my Ministry is now championing this cause, which at the broader and strategic level, embodies our commitment to Vision 2040, Agenda 2030 and environmental stewardship.”

Following the launch, a behaviour change campaign will be rolled out to accelerate eCooking adoption, developed collaboratively by the National Renewable Energy Platform (NREP) and key stakeholders. The awareness campaign will include outreach in schools, cultural and religious institutions, and public spaces; engaging with media; developing an eCooking mobile app for consumers on appliances, distributors, repair, etc.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Government of UK.

Thousands of Palestinians, including newborn babies, evacuated from Gaza to Egypt with urgent medical needs are receiving critical support from Save the Children as part of a Community Jameel-funded initiative to support pregnant mothers and children.

With Community Jameel’s support, Save the Children has procured 20 incubators and other medical supplies and installed these in Ministry of Health neonatal intensive care units in Egypt, where medics are delivering urgent obstetric and paediatric care to mothers and neonates, including preterm babies, who have been evacuated from Gaza.

Since October 2023, around 5,000 people have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza, with over 80% receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and a further 10,000 patients currently in need of medical evacuation for specialised care. This includes newborn babies requiring intensive care whose families are trying to evacuate them following the bombing of specialist maternity units across Gaza.

The number of evacuations has decreased drastically since the closure of border crossings, with around 2,150 patients unable to leave Gaza since May due to the closure of the Rafah crossing. The health system in Gaza has all but collapsed, with the World Health Organization (WHO) warning that, as the war continues to drive critical medical needs, the number of patients requiring medical evacuation is expected to increase. Relentless bombardment and the ongoing siege have dismantled the healthcare infrastructure, with 19 out of 36 hospitals out of service. 

The WHO also said that there are more than 500,000 women of reproductive age in Gaza who now lack access to essential services including antenatal and postnatal care. Maternity services are only provided at eight out of 17 partially functioning hospitals, and at four field hospitals.

Since last October, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has estimated that 20,000 babies have been born in the Gaza Strip. Research shows that about 15% of women giving birth are likely to experience complications in pregnancy.

Matteo Caprotti, Country Director at Save the Children Egypt, said:

“Repeated so-called “evacuation” orders, access restrictions on medical supplies and fuel and attacks on hospitals and medical points in Gaza are destroying children’s chances to get life-saving treatment. Those who managed to be evacuated to Egypt are suffering from injuries and are haunted by the horrors they have experienced. We’re proud to partner with Community Jameel to provide Palestinian children with the support they have a right to and so critically need.”

George Richards, Director of at Community Jameel, said:

“Palestinian mothers in Gaza are giving birth in traumatic, unhygienic and undignified conditions without access to basic care. Some women are self-inducing labour to avoid giving birth on the move, while others are scared to seek vital prenatal care because of fears of bombing, and some have died due to a lack of access to doctors. With Community Jameel’s support, Save the Children is providing lifesaving treatment to pregnant mothers and newborn babies in need of urgent care who are evacuated from Gaza through the Rafah crossing to Egypt.”

With Community Jameel’s support, Save the Children is also providing equipment and specialist training to Egyptian ambulance paramedics, who receive and transport medical evacuees from Gaza, including training on child safeguarding and psychological first aid and self-care. Faced with a humanitarian emergency where patients, including children, have suffered deprivation of basic necessities, trauma and catastrophic injuries, paramedics require specialist skills to manage their mental health and wellbeing.

Hakim*, a paramedic who received psychological first aid and safeguarding training from Save the Children as part of the initiative, said:

“I learned that we must build a secure bridge between us and the children to make them feel safe and help them calm down. You start to examine the child’s condition afterwards because first you must establish trust with the child and help them feel secure. For children who have been subjected to a psychological trauma such as the war in Gaza, treatment will vary based on their age. Children who are younger than three will require special treatment because they cannot fully verbally express themselves, they can only cry. This makes identifying what they need more challenging.”

Following initial training of about 90 paramedics, the Egyptian ambulance authority has now requested Save the Children to scale up training to its full staff of 16,000 paramedics as they rotate from across Egypt into the North Sinai governorate to support the Gaza crisis response.

Save the Children in Egypt has been supporting Palestinian children and families who have fled the war in Gaza into Egypt with urgent assistance and support, providing mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) sessions to children and adults, health services and cash assistance to thousands of stranded Palestinians to support them to meet their basic needs. Since the beginning of the crisis and up until the closure of the Rafah crossing, Save the Children has procured and delivered emergency humanitarian assistance to Gaza through the crossing, including water, medicine, food parcels, shelter kits, baby and dignity kits.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Save the Children.

Colendi AI (www.ColendiAI.com), a leader in fintech innovation, introduces ColendiMind, an advanced AI solution aiming to enhance decision-making, improve customer experience, and boost loan performance for financial institutions globally. Targeting new markets, Colendi AI plans to open a Middle East and Africa regional office in early 2025, following its success in Istanbul. 

Colendi AI, a leading innovator in financial technology, has officially launched ColendiMind, a groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) platform designed to revolutionize the finance and banking sectors. Built on a combination of machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLM), ColendiMind provides banks and financial institutions with cutting-edge tools to enhance decision-making, customer experience, and loan performance, all while advancing the mission to democratize the access to AI in finance. 

At a time when financial institutions are seeking smarter, more efficient solutions, ColendiMind steps in with a comprehensive suite of AI modules, including personalized credit scoring, fraud detection, customer segmentation, and automated customer service. These capabilities provide deeper insights, enabling institutions to optimize processes, reduce risk, and create customized financial services to their customers. 

“As Colendi AI, our mission is to democratize access to AI in the finance and banking industry,” said Bülent Tekmen, Co-Founder and CEO of Colendi. “With ColendiMind, we’re equipping financial institutions with AI capabilities that empower them to make more informed decisions, streamline operations, and enhance customer interactions. We are proud to be at the forefront of this shift and excited to see the impact on the future of finance.”  

Supports multiple languages including English, French, Arabic and Turkish 
The backbone of ColendiMind’s capabilities lies in its use of advanced language models, such as Qwen.2 and Llama3.1, for high-speed data processing and in-depth analysis. This enables ColendiMind to process and interpret vast amounts of data in real time, improving loan performance and fraud detection. Its robust localization features support multiple languages—including English, French, Arabic, and Turkish—making it an ideal solution for global financial institutions operating in diverse markets. 

ColendiMind is built to integrate seamlessly with widely used cloud platforms like Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure, ensuring that it meets the high scalability and performance requirements of modern financial services. Adhering to SOC 2 (System and Organization Controls) security standards, ColendiMind ensures that institutions can trust the platform with sensitive data. 

Harnessing AI to improve loan performance is a game-changer 
“Harnessing AI to improve loan performance is a game-changer for financial institutions,” Tekmen continued. “ColendiMind allows banks and other financial service providers to leverage the power of AI in a secure, efficient, and scalable way.” 

As Colendi AI continues to expand, the company is targeting new markets. After its success in Istanbul, Colendi AI plans to open a Middle East and Africa regional office in early 2025. This move aligns with its goal of making AI-driven solutions accessible globally, particularly in emerging markets, by offering localized services. 

Founded in 2018, Colendi has rapidly evolved into one of the world’s fastest growing fintech companies, reaching over 18 million users across its multiple embedded partner platforms. With the launch of ColendiMind, Colendi now positions itself at the forefront of AI-driven fintech, continuing its mission to democratize access to finance. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Colendi AI.

Contact:  
Aslı Caner 
Chief Communications Officer 
asli.caner@colendi.com 
+90 532 443 9847 

Website: 
https://ColendiAI.com/ 
https://www.Colendi.com/ 

About Colendi AI 
Colendi AI is a leading AI company specializing in financial technology solutions for banks and financial institutions. By leveraging ML and LLMs, Colendi AI empowers institutions to optimize processes, enhance customer experiences, and improve decision-making in critical areas like credit scoring and fraud detection. 

About Colendi 
Colendi, based in Türkiye, is a global leader in embedded finance, offering innovative financial solutions to over 18 million users worldwide. Established in 2018, Colendi provides a wide range of services, including alternative credit scoring, personalized financial tools, and AI-driven insights.