NextBillion - A WDI Publication

Today 2.1 billion people — around a quarter of the world’s population — still live without access to clean cooking fuels and technologies. Meanwhile, more than 660 million people lack electricity access, most of whom are living in sub-Saharan Africa.

Reliable electricity. A gas supply for cooking. Affordable transportation. Internet access. Imagine living without these and you will quickly understand how a lack of energy access significantly impedes your daily activities, your opportunities — and ultimately your quality of life. The impact of this lack of access can be seen across Africa where, despite multiple dynamic and growing economies, the region still accounts for 85% of the global population without electricity access — an increase from 50% in 2010.

Meanwhile, global conversations are largely focused on decarbonising our energy resources to combat climate change. Important as this priority undoubtably is, it tends to overlook the needs and realities of the world’s most energy-poor regions. While advanced economies focus on phasing out fossil fuels, millions of households across Africa and Asia still lack access to the most basic of energy utilities: They don’t have the luxury or infrastructure to seamlessly leapfrog to a prosperous green future.

We cannot simply leave hundreds of millions in the dark because their kerosene lamps and diesel generators aren’t environmentally viable — not without providing them with suitable energy alternatives. Energy access is not only a climate issue, but a cornerstone of poverty reduction and economic empowerment. So how can we deliver a just climate transition while eradicating energy poverty?

How Public-Private Partnerships Can Close the Energy Access Gap

The solution lies within the private sector. Public funding alone cannot close the energy access gap — a multi-trillion-dollar financing need that simply can’t be met by the world’s poorest governments on behalf of their poorest citizens. Only the private sector has the means to combine innovative technology with accessible financing mechanisms to scale energy solutions in emerging markets. And indeed, from solar power to clean cooking solutions, financed through PayGo (pay-as-you-go) models, the off-grid energy sector is already proving that it can sustainably and effectively close the energy gap in sub-Saharan Africa.

However, due to the constraints imposed by the need to make a profit while operating in low-income, high-cost environments, the private sector cannot solve these issues alone. The only way to ensure equitable progress is through partnerships between the public and private sectors.

This is the approach we’ve taken at Bboxx. Through a combination of advanced technology, inclusive financing models and enabling partnerships — most notably our longstanding collaboration with the Government of Rwanda — we have positively impacted more than 6 million lives, unlocking their economic potential through sustainable energy access.

In the process, we’ve learned what financing a just transition in emerging markets looks like in practice.

Workable Models for Financing a Just Transition

One way to unlock finance is to amend the measurement criteria for returns — for example, by creating monetisable “impact credits.” These would be comparable to carbon credits, but with a few key differences: They would be based on tangible, verifiable results — like how many households gained access to clean cooking or electricity — which are easier to track (and harder to fudge) than abstract emissions reductions. They would leverage tech to verify impact, through tools like smart meters, mobile payments and Internet of Things devices that collect real-time data, making it much easier to verify and compare impact across projects. And their goal would be to unlock results-based financing for projects that are genuinely improving lives, rather than to create a market where credits would be traded.

Another way to tap into new sources of finance is to mitigate investors’ risks using blended capital, mixing funding from governments, development finance institutions, philanthropists and private investors to de-risk investment and mobilise capital at scale to build an inclusive and sustainable energy market.

On the ground, accessible consumer financing models like PayGo are equally important to ensure the uptake of renewable and off-grid solutions, as they can remove economic barriers for low-income customers. At Bboxx, we’ve seen how these PayGo models enable millions to pay for their solar home systems, clean cooking stoves, electric transport and smartphones in small, manageable instalments — instead of leaving these potential customers dissuaded by the cost, or simply unable to buy these products in the first place.

A supportive policy landscape is also important for driving the innovation and investment necessary for a just transition. The right policies need to be in place to facilitate and encourage private investment and entrepreneurship, and to avoid creating roadblocks in the form of restrictive regulation. The government of Rwanda, for example, has laid the policy groundwork for the e-mobility sector to flourish. For instance, as of January 2025, Rwanda no longer allows the registration of petrol motorcycles for commercial use in Kigali. This move advances the country’s green transition, boosting electric motorcycle taxi uptake, saving money for drivers and cutting emissions for the planet. And with the support of government subsidies under Rwanda’s energy access and development programmes, Bboxx has been able to deliver clean cooking solutions to more than 11,000 households across the country, and provide 10% of Rwanda’s decentralised energy. This sort of public-private partnership truly demonstrates the importance of working with government to successfully scale a just energy transition — a process that can’t overlook clean cooking, when nearly a third of the global population still rely on open fires or inefficient stoves fuelled by kerosene, charcoal and biomass for cooking.

The Role of Clean Cooking in a Just Energy Transition

For many millions of Africans, cooking with traditional cooking fuel carries dire health risks, disproportionally affecting women and children who are usually tasked with the kitchen duties. From inhaling cancerous smoke to the risk of burns, unclean cooking practices can be fatal. The use of polluting fuels and technologies for cooking results in 3.2 million premature deaths each year, including a sobering 237,000 deaths of children under the age of five.

This daily burden also translates into time poverty. Think of all the time lost in gathering fuel. This is time that could have been spent in productive activities, furthering women and children’s educational or economic prospects. Then there is the environmental cost: Charcoal and wood have carbon footprints that are 50% and 74% higher than liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) respectively, and charcoal production accounts for up to 30% of global deforestation.

As shown by these overlapping impacts, clean cooking is not just a climate issue, it is one of health, gender equality, economic opportunity and time. And since we cannot simply eliminate charcoal and wood burning overnight, we must work collectively to deliver a strategic transition that is affordable to families in emerging markets. If it’s not economical, it’s not sustainable. This is where clean cooking programmes and commercial projects come in.

To take one example, Bboxx’s PayGo Smart Cooking Valves enable families to cook more safely and efficiently, paying for only the energy they use, while reducing carbon emissions that would otherwise have been generated from traditional cooking methods. Thanks to subsidies from the likes of the World Bank, carbon credit programmes, and key partnerships with companies like TotalEnergies — accompanied by a “pay-as-you-cook” model — we’ve made clean cooking accessible to millions across sub-Saharan Africa. But there is more to be done. The disconcerting reality is that wood fuel usage has persisted in countries throughout the region: In Rwanda, for instance, it has actually increased over the last five years. We urgently need more capital to flow into clean cooking initiatives to prevent health risk for millions.

A Foundation for Sustainable Economic Growth

With the correct financing, the global energy access gap can be closed, in keeping with a just transition. But my message today is that energy access alone is not the end goal: It’s a foundation for enabling sustainable economic growth, productivity and entrepreneurship.

Reliable electricity. A gas supply for cooking. Affordable transportation. Internet access. Earlier I asked you to imagine going without these, and to consider how the lack of energy access significantly diminishes quality of life.

Now I ask you to imagine something different: After living without these services your entire life, suddenly, you have solar power. You have reliable electricity and light, and your children can study after dark. You have an LPG cook stove. You’re no longer exposed to the health risks of charcoal and wood burning fuel. You have affordable transport. You can travel to the next town for work. You’re connected to the internet. You can access educational resources and set up banking online. Suddenly, you’re economically empowered, and your life is transformed.

To investors: This is a call to think about how we view returns. Financing energy access is financing sustainable development, regional economic growth and millions of individual opportunities.

To policymakers: It’s time to create the enabling environments that allow much-needed private sector innovation to flourish.

And to the development community: Energy access must be integrated into broader economic empowerment strategies.

Scaling access to clean, affordable energy is within reach, but only if we make a collective commitment to a just transition.

Anthony Osijo is the Group CEO of Bboxx, a company that provides access to essential products and services across Africa.

Photo credit: gloria mwivanda