The Smart Villages Initiative, jointly with the Academy of Sciences of Nicaragua (ACN) and the University of Central America (UCA), organised a national workshop in Matagalpa, Nicaragua on 27-28 April 2017 in order to explore the major challenges to, and opportunities for, achieving electricity access for rural and isolated communities to support productive processes and tourism, and to determine how financial mechanisms and energy policies can be improved to enable electricity access for all Nicaraguans. The event started with a field trip to the mountains of northern Nicaragua to visit the hydroelectric plant El Bote, one of the few successful micro-grid projects in the country. The following day the forum took place at Selva Negra Eco-lodge Resort in Matagalpa, bringing together 34 Nicaraguan experts on energy access projects, microfinancing, and energy policy and regulation.
