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Big Data, Big Opportunity: Is Data Science the Key to Universal Energy Access?
Rural dwellers at the base of the pyramid are living largely "data-less," un-digitalized lives – but that's changing quickly with the spread of pay-as-you-go energy and the financial access it enables. In spite of the dangers of wrongly screening out customers as potential credit risks, denying them both further electrification prospects and access to credit, Guilhem Dupuy of GAIA Impact Fund and Thibault Lesueur of Solaris Offgrid take an optimistic view. They discuss why new off-grid energy data is an opportunity for increased investment, industry growth and economic justice.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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Off-Grid Renewable Energy Is Helping Tackle Two of Africa’s Biggest Problems
Renewable energy companies in Kenya account for 10,000 jobs—only 1,000 fewer than the national utility, while in Nigeria the sector employs 4,000 in formal jobs compared to 10,000 employed across the country’s traditional energy sectors.
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- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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‘The Marketmakers’ – How Rural Bangladesh Became a Model for Solar Enterprise
It took just a decade for more than 15 million villagers to gain access to the benefits of solar home systems in Bangladesh. How did this happen? Nancy Wimmer explains the process in her new book, "The Marketmakers — Solar for the Hinterland of Bangladesh." While Bangladesh's success would be difficult to replicate in other countries, Wimmer is convinced it is not solely determined by a country or product. Rather, she says it stems from a market-oriented approach carried out by rural entrepreneurs, as well as the leadership and resources to see it through.
- Categories
- Energy
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Why Africa’s Energy Sector Needs Transparency: A Q&A with the Head of KawiSafi Ventures, Acumen’s for-Profit Energy Fund
While investing patient capital into for-profit firms has been Acumen’s MO for decades now, the organization itself has remained a non-profit. But in April, Acumen announced that it was doing something it hadn't done before: creating a commercial investment fund. Called KawiSafi Ventures, the for-profit fund has lined up $70 million to boost clean energy firms – and therefore clean energy access – in East Africa. Managing Director Amar Inamdar explores the fund's focus on scalable businesses, and why debt and equity need to start playing nice with one another in the sector.
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Investors With US$2 Billion Urge Donors to Ramp up Support for Mini-Grids in Africa
Specifically, the 12 investors, which have more than US$2 billion under management, said that the missing catalyst for scaling mini-grids was an effective results-based financing (RBF) mechanism.
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Time to Shift Gears: Despite Positive Trends, Off-Grid Solar Needs More Investment to Grow
It's true that 2018 was a fairly positive year for investments in off-grid solar. But according to GOGLA, the global association for the industry, this progress isn’t enough. With more than 150 off-grid solar companies and stakeholders as members, GOGLA closely monitors investment flows in the sector. Based on analysis of its deal database, it has realized that the industry will need a significant increase in funding to reach the target of universal energy by 2030. GOGLA analysts share five trends in off-grid solar funding they've observed in the recent data.
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BBOXX Bags $8m Loan to Accelerate Solar Home Systems in Rwanda
Next generation utility BBOXX has secured an $8 million loan from the Facility for Energy Inclusion Off-Grid Energy Access Fund (FEI OGEF).
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Power to Produce: How Indian Energy Entrepreneurs are Approaching the Next Big Frontier
The Indian government says 99.99% of houses in India, a staggering 214 million of them, are now on the electrical grid. Even with errors and omissions, it’s an incredible number. So if nearly all dwellings in India are now grid-enabled, is this the end of energy access challenges in the country? Not exactly, writes Ananth Aravamudan at the social enterprise incubator Villgro, since the existing grid does not provide satisfactory service. He shares several mini case studies of innovative startups building energy solutions that create both value and social impact.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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