AYV News, May 2, 2025
61 residents registered in one-day drive to meet ID requirements for loan access
In response to a major barrier preventing low-income residents from accessing clean cooking solutions, AfriGas led a mobile national ID registration drive in Rokupa-Portee on 20 March 2025, in collaboration with the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA). The five-hour initiative resulted in 61 residents receiving national ID cards—documents required to qualify for upcoming micro-loans for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
AfriGas is currently working in the community as part of its activities under the Financial Inclusion for Clean Cooking Access in Rwanda and Sierra Leone (FICCARS) project, which aims to reach 3,000 women with access to clean cooking technologies. While interest in LPG products has been high, the absence of valid ID among many residents—especially women engaged in informal trade—posed a significant obstacle to accessing the financial support needed to adopt these technologies.
To address this, AfriGas initiated the mobile registration event, coordinating directly with NCRA to bring services into the heart of the community and ease the burden of long travel and waiting times.
Rokupa-Portee, located at the eastern edge of Freetown, is an informal coastal settlement where many households depend on daily earnings from petty trading and fishing-related activities. Women in particular face constraints in accessing government services due to caregiving responsibilities and the cost of time away from work.
“This initiative has had a real impact,” said Adamsay Bangura, a young community teacher. “Because of the nature of my job, I never had the time to go for an ID card. But with this intervention, AfriGas made the process easy. I’m really grateful to them and NCRA.”
Mohamed Mansaray, a Mason in the community, echoed this sentiment: “I feel so excited, and that same happiness is felt by others in the community. People appreciated that the cost was affordable, and the process was brought to us.”
While the ID drive was not a formal activity under the FICCARS project, it emerged as a practical response to an unanticipated barrier. Loan partners involved in the project require national ID for eligibility, and without documentation, many interested residents would have been excluded.
The Banking for Innovation and Partnership (BIP) loan programme—expected to launch within the community in April 2025—will offer low-interest loans to support the uptake of clean cooking solutions. Women-led households and informal traders are expected to be among the primary beneficiaries.
AfriGas says it will continue exploring similar outreach initiatives in other underserved areas as part of its effort to support inclusive energy access.
