Viewpoint: Why We Believe Open Sourcing Our Financing Approach Can Accelerate Universal Energy Access in Africa
The Free Software Foundation was founded in 1985 and open source moved rapidly into the mainstream as tech giants such as IBM, Oracle, and Microsoft all established an open source presence on the internet.
We believe now is the time to take a similarly radical approach in other sectors.
CrossBoundary Access and Shell Foundation, co-funded with UK aid from the UK government, are taking the next step in ‘open sourcing’ the financing approach developed by CrossBoundary Access for mini-grids to accelerate universal access to electricity in Africa. Mini-grids can power whole communities, helping small business owners, rural households, and transporters, the key focus customer groups for Shell Foundation. We are sharing the legal contracts and financial models that we co-developed with our partners to unlock access to the $1 trillion global infrastructure capital market that mini-grids need to scale.
Photo courtesy of DIVatUSAID.
