-
$1.5 Billion Microgrid Market Opportunity Emerges in Kenya
A confluence of innovation, risk taking, and public and private effort has created a five-year, $1.5 billion microgrid market opportunity in Kenya, leading Germany’s TFE Consulting to dub the East African nation, “The World’s Microgrid Lab.”
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
People Are Cooking With Human Poo — and That’s a Good Thing
In Kenya, the future of sanitation may entail turning human waste into fuel.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Solar & Renewable Energy Pioneer Kingo Announces $8.0 Million Series B Financing Round
Kingo, through its innovative prepaid solar energy service, turns lives ON for off-grid households at the bottom of the economic pyramid (BoP).
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
- Region
- Latin America
-
Loans for solar systems make power affordable in rural Kenya
Until recently, Njoroge’s home northwest of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, was poorly lit at night. Most people in Ndabibi are not connected to mains electricity, and rely on kerosene or small solar lamps to light their homes.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
Cell Phones Bring Power to Africans Living Off the Grid
Fenix International, a San Francisco startup making solar-power systems for people with no access to electricity grids, is expanding in Africa through a partnership with the continent’s largest wireless carrier.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
BBOXX to provide Togo with 300,000 solar home solutions
As part of its Vision 2030 plan, Togo drew up a gameplan focused on providing its population with access to electricity through a renewable-energy mix.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
-
The Rise of a New Asset Class: Can ‘PAYGo Finance’ Connect Investors to Low-Income Customers?
Lendable has pioneered a marketplace lending platform that connects alternative lenders in East Africa with impact and institutional debt investors, to provide financing for leased assets like solar panels and motorcycles. According to BFA, providing these alternative lenders with structured debt financing could potentially give rise to a new asset class: PAYGo finance. If successful in raising funds from investors at scale, the Lendable approach could bring financing for low-income individuals full circle.
- Categories
- Energy, Inclusive Fintech, Investing
-
How Flexible Financing, Solar Panels and Data Could Be Key to Financial Inclusion
With over 1 million units installed in the past four years, the PAYGo financing model is already unlocking significant growth for the off-grid solar industry. But the sector also faces formidable challenges. FIBR, a project by BFA in partnership with Mastercard Foundation, is exploring ways PAYGo solar can leverage data to make better point-of-sale decisions, customize product offerings, engage and retain agent networks, inform future follow-on products, and build linkages with other financial service providers.
- Categories
- Energy, Inclusive Fintech
Parent Organization
