KTUF partnership workshop highlights cross-regional geothermal expertise and collaboration
Mathew Mwangomba of TGDC speaking at the KTUF workshop in Paris, France (source: AFPG)
Carlo Cariaga
6 Feb 2026
A geothermal workshop held in Paris under the KTUF partnership highlighted cross-region competencies and experiences across France and East Africa.
On Tuesday the 20th of January 2026, the French Development Agency (AFD) together with the French Association of Geothermal Professionals (Association Française des Professionnels de la Géothermie / AFPG) organized a workshop in Paris, France, focused on cross-disciplinary perspectives and experiential feedback on geothermal energy, within the framework of the Kenya-Tanzania-Uganda-France (KTUF) partnership.
The KTUF partnership is funded by AFD, and coordinated by GEODEEP, the French geothermal Cluster for export activities hosted by AFPG, and its members Iroko Africa (MANERGY Group) and WGS. Bringing together technical experts, representatives from international financial institutions and industry players, the meeting took stock of current dynamics and identified the levers needed to accelerate the deployment of this strategic sector.
“We have so much to learn from you!”
Emmanuel Baudran of AFD opened the day by highlighting the growing role of geothermal energy in energy and climate policies, both for developed countries and emerging economies. He also pointed out the impressive know-how developed in Kenya that could serve as a model for all countries willing to base their energy mix on this renewable energy.
A framing session then presented national strategies and global trends, with a presentation by Martina Lyons from the International Energy Agency (IEA), who emphasised the still largely untapped potential of geothermal energy in the global energy mix.
Geothermal insights and ambitions across regions
Several speakers shared insights and feedback on geothermal development in East Africa. Lucy Njue from the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) outlined the significant progress made in Kenya, which is now the regional leader for geothermal. Similarly, Daniel Mwaura of KenGen discussed the Olkaria project, which has become a global benchmark for large-scale geothermal production.
Representing the more emerging regions, Mathew Paul Mwangomba of the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC) presented the development prospects for the Tanzanian market while Vicent Kato, from the Ugandan Ministry of Energy, detailed the priorities and challenges in Uganda.
The ambitions of the French geothermal sector were expressed by Virginie Schmidlé-Bloch of GEODEEP who presented the measures aimed at strengthening national expertise and international investment capabilities, and by Norbert Bommensatt of the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) who presented French support mechanisms and the development of deep geothermal energy in the Île-de-France region, highlighting France’s leading role in Europe.
French know-how was illustrated by François Tanguy (ECOGI / ES Géothermie) and Hervé Traineau (CFG) by focusing on industrial uses of geothermal energy beyond electricity production, particularly for industrial heating and urban networks.
Fruitful discussions on challenges and opportunities
Introduced by Morgane Martin of Iroko Africa and moderated by Nathalie Ricaille of Relayer & Relier, the workshop highlighted a roundtable on innovative de-risking and financing tools addressed the main obstacles to project deployment – technical complexity, long development timelines, structuring bankable projects, regulatory frameworks and political and resource risks.
Representatives of the French players demonstrated how the solutions implemented nationally could be replicated in Eastern Africa, particularly in the heating and cooling applications that are useful for numerous uses (agriculture, aquaculture, processing, building and offices…). Strategic tools such as derisking Fund (French RMS) and the Heat Fund (Fonds chaleur) remain the best French assets to be shared with other geothermal countries.
Last but not least, a panel with representatives from the World Bank (WB), The European Union (EU/INTPA), The European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency (AFD) and kfW, discussed main challenges and opportunities for the financing of geothermal projects.
Geothermal as a key energy source in the energy transition
The AFPG commends the quality of the organisation and thanks the AFD and all the speakers for their contributions. This workshop reinforces the strategic role of geothermal energy in the global energy transition, both in Europe and Africa, and the importance of strengthening international cooperation to accelerate its deployment.
The KTUF partnership will definitively help unite the competencies of the partner countries to attain the goals of geothermal development, including sustainable, decarbonised and sovereign energy, food security, and access to affordable energy. It will also support in finding technical and financing solutions to reduce the costs of geothermal energy, and develop technically feasible and financially viable projects.
Source: AFPG /GEODEEP via email correspondence
