Analysis: In Uganda, Solar Home Systems Help Students Stay in School
Advocates for pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar financing have often touted the potential of electrification to improve school performance, pointing to light as critical to allowing children to study at night. But one provider in Uganda is proving that an often-overlooked benefit of PAYGo – financial inclusion – can also affect education outcomes by keeping kids in the classroom.
That’s the takeaway from a new impact evaluation study of Engie Energy Access’ (formerly Fenix Intl) ReadyPay school fee loans in Uganda, a product designed in collaboration with CGAP. The randomized control trial implemented by researchers from UC Berkeley and Washington University, with the support of the IFC and CGAP, found that these small cash loans offered to solar home system borrowers impacted the ability of poor, rural households to send their children to school.
Photo courtesy of Jhon Dal.
