The Sustainable Energy Forum (SEF) for East Africa was organized by the East African Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (EACREEE), in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the EAC Secretariat, the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL), the Ministry of Infrastructure of the Republic of Rwanda (MININFRA) and hosted by the government of Rwanda from 19th to 21st March 2018 at Serena Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda.

The objective of SEF 2018 was to foster the economic transformation of the EAC Partner States through equitable access to sustainable energy for all.
At the opening of this forum, the EACREEE and its partners welcome participants from the public and private sectors, including sub national entities, development finance institutions, domestic and international enterprises, international organizations, industry association, and experts from academia.

In her opening remarks, the Minister of State Germaine Kamayirese calls for effective partnership to achieve EAC clean energy targets. After she addressed her appreciation to the organizers and funders of the forum including EACREE, UNIDO, UNECA and other various partners, she confirmed the commitment of the Government of Rwanda to achieve energy access targets by 2024 by focusing on capacity building, finance and technology.
The program of the SEF was organized into two parts : the plenary sessions and exhibition to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to present their services pertaining to sustainable development.
The plenary sessions focused on the following areas :

1. Electrification : Opportunities and challenges for scaling-up access to electricity in the EAC region ;
2. Clean fuels and technologies for cooking : Opportunities and challenges for scaling clean fuels and technologies for cooking in the EAC region ;
3. Harmonizing policies to scale up sustainable energy in the EAC region ;
4. Stakeholder perspectives on sustainable energy policies in the EAC region ;
5. Status of financing sustainable energy in East Africa ;
6. Opportunities and challenges in East African Cities ;
7. Modern urban energy challenges and opportunities.

In the closing, different partners have recalled the need for the development and finance of sustainable energy in EAC region. As was highlighted, all the SDGs can be delivered through sustainable energy. Following this statement, all stakeholders were invited to play their role including awareness raising, harmonization of EAC policies and legislations, institution strengthening, among others.