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PEG Africa Raises $5M in Debt Funding From ElectriFI
PEG Africa currently provides 400 000 daily users in Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal with credit for solar home systems via its pay-as-you-go financing model.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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BBOXX Closes US$50 Million Funding Round Led by Mitsubishi
Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and co-founder of BBOXX, said: “The funding is further evidence of Japanese interest in Africa and in PAYG solar energy globally. Mitsubishi Corporation’s extensive reach, sector specific and technological expertise will help us to reach more people without reliable access to modern utilities and services at even greater scale.
- Categories
- Energy
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The Planetary Potential of Banishing Kerosene Lighting – And How Entrepreneurship Can Help
Kerosene lamps are still used by hundreds of millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa. They contribute to climate change by releasing not only CO2 but also black carbon, an especially potent greenhouse gas. What's more, they exact a grim human toll, from burns and fires to toxic smoke and poisoning hazards. Alicia Oberholzer and Fid Thompson at Solar Sister call for an end to kerosene lighting, and highlight how women's entrepreneurship can make it happen.
- Categories
- Energy, Entrepreneurship
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Press Release: Pan-African Micro-Utility PowerGen Acquires Rafiki Power (E.ON Off-Grid Solutions) From E.ON
The combination of two market-leading micro-grid companies reflects growing momentum in the sector.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Solar, Expanded: Building the Future of Utilities in Bangladesh
Imagine a network of homes – some with solar panels, some without – buying and selling renewable power in small, on-demand increments. “Swarm electrification,” as it’s known, is no longer imaginary, but a peer-to-peer system many entrepreneurs and utilities are exploring, including the Bangladeshi startup SOLshare. Tatiana Bessarabova at Endeva explains why SOLshare’s “prosumer” model, and a project to expand it, could be the future of utilities around the world.
- Categories
- Energy
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Clean vs. ‘Clean Enough’: How the Clean Cooking Industry Can Overcome its Struggles to Scale
Access to clean cookstoves and fuels has only increased by 0.5% per year, well below all global development goals. To turn this trajectory around, Jessica Alderman at Envirofit International argues that the industry needs to resolve a high-stakes debate: Should it focus only on the cleanest solutions that have the greatest health and environmental impacts? Or should it fund and promote technologies that have lesser impacts - but that are more affordable and likelier to reach the people who need them most?
- Categories
- Energy, Health Care, Technology
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Low Energy Consumption = Unprofitable Mini-Grids. Is Appliance Financing the Answer?
Over 600 million Africans live without electricity, and mini-grids are a cheap solution to bring power to at least 100 million of them. But the mini-grid business model is not yet sustainable. This is due in part to low levels of energy consumption by rural customers, who often can't afford the high upfront costs of appliances that would increase their energy usage. Analysts at CrossBoundary explore new research on whether offering financing for household appliances can help overcome this barrier.
- Categories
- Energy
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Mercy Corps, MTN Liberia Launch Mobile Payment for PayGo Solar Systems
PayGo enables households to buy quality solar systems and pay in installments instead of outright upfront payment. So far, partner private sector distributors have installed over 1,100 pay as you go systems, improving the lives of rural dwellers, particularly those with children of school-going age.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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