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Banking on the Unbanked: Assessing True ‘Creditworthiness’
The combination of advanced fintech with off-grid solar solutions has been a winning combo for Colibrí, a social enterprise devoted to promoting energy access in rural Nicaragua. Its Fácil-Pago technology, powered by Angaza Design, has succeeded partly thanks to the business' approach to an often-difficult financial task: responsibly assessing the credit-worthiness of unbanked customers. Morgan Babbs, Colibrí founder and CEO, explains why the approach to calculating credit-worthiness has resulted in exceeding low default rates among other advantages.
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Press release: Solar brings economic boost to East African households
The report, ‘Powering Opportunity: The Economic Impact of Off-grid Solar’ provides data demonstrating the economic benefits of off-grid solar power in the developing world. The findings show that nearly 60% of off-grid solar owners undertake more work and enterprise within just three months of using a solar home system.
- Source
- Press release
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Home Solar + Microfinance: Mitigating Risks and Maximizing Rewards
The social impact of home solar systems in off-grid villages has shown itself to be broader than initially thought. But while social enterprises continue to roll out new forms of solar, financing their purchase can put these innovations out of reach for the low-income households that need them most. Mark Roesink of Oikocredit shares how weaving responsible microlending into the solar industry could generate greater impact for energy access in emerging markets like India and Kenya.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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BBOXX secures a deal in DRC to deploy off-grid solar solutions
Next generation utility BBOXX has signed a pioneering deal with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which will bring renewable electricity to 2.5 million citizens in the DRC by 2020.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Mini-Grid Milestone: Can the Industry’s First Trade Association Help Electrify Rural Africa?
In April, the mini-grid industry got its first-ever trade association, as the Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA) launched with chapters in Kenya and Tanzania – and ambitious goals for expansion across the continent. Though AMDA's membership currently includes about a dozen companies providing 11,000 connections, it aspires to represent 90 percent of the mini-grid sector by the end of 2021. In a Q&A with Scott Anderson, AMDA co-founder Jessica Stephens discusses its plans to transform the mini-grid industry from a feel-good alternative to a power player in the energy sector.
- Categories
- Energy
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Microgrids an Important Piece of the Puzzle for Energy Access in Frontier Markets
Microgrids are becoming important part of the frontier power markets for distributed energy systems. Advances in technology such as energy storage along with rising diesel prices, and favorable government policies have enabled an environment to support the economics of small-scale clean energy systems according to the second quarter Frontier Power Market Outlook report by BNEF.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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East Africa a bright spot as world crawls towards energy goals
Indoor air pollution from burning wood, dung, kerosene and other dirty fuels causes over 4 million deaths a year, with women and children at highest risk, the report said.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Nigeria’s energy crisis: Consumers consider solar option
The inability of the Federal Government to harness the potential inherent in solar energy has left the country far behind other nations in the development of this renewable energy. It has also further dealt a debilitating blow on its aspiration to becoming an industralised nation.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa