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Report: Job Creation Through Solar-Powered Farm Equipment Could Boost Employment in Rural Communities
New research from Efficiency for Access highlights the transformative impact of solar-powered farm equipment by providing the first comprehensive analysis of employment trends in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, along with actionable recommendations for governments and industry stakeholders.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: Upaya Social Ventures Successfully Exits From Resham Sutra, Celebrates Creation Of Dignified Jobs In India’s Silk Industry
Resham Sutra is a New Delhi-based social business dedicated to empowering local artisan communities by providing solar-powered silk yarn production machines.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Oorja Closes US $1.5 Million Pre-Series A To Scale Its Farming-as-a-Service Model
Oorja owns, operates and maintains decentralised solar infrastructure at the farm level and sells affordable irrigation and milling services to groups of smallholder farmers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press Release: $1.7 Million Funding Boost for Innovators Advancing Clean Energy Agriculture Technology
Efficiency for Access has awarded $1.7m of funding to innovators to help develop clean energy agricultural technologies and appliances in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Scalable Mini-Grid Design Requires Expandable Systems: Why Modular Technology and Finance are Key to the Sector’s Growth and Sustainability
Mini-grids offer a proven, low-cost solution to bring energy access to hard-to-reach communities. But as Nathan Sermonis and Liam Murphy at Vittoria Technology argue, mini-grid projects need to start small and grow alongside customer demand for optimal sustainability. They explore why smart mini-grid design requires expandable, right-sized systems with “modular” finance and technology, and discuss how recent innovations in batteries and other solar technologies can enable this change in the sector’s approach to system design.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
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Sefa Finances $8 Million for Productive Use of Off-Grid Solar in Ethiopia
The funding will support a pilot project “to test the commercial viability and effectiveness of a business model integrating mini-grids with agro-industrial operations at nine sites in Ethiopia”, says the AfDB.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Under-Leveraged Best Practices for Scaling Productive Use of Energy Appliances: Part 2 — Financing Options
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) appliances are the subject of growing attention in the development sector, but manufacturers and distributors are facing a number of challenges and misconceptions that are limiting uptake of these devices. In the second article of a two-part series exploring best practices for selling PUE appliances, Thomas Charoy and Lucie Klarsfeld McGrath at Hystra discuss the affordability challenge, sharing solutions for handling the high level of working capital and financial skills required to offer financing options to end-users.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Technology
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Comparing Business Models for Scaling Access to Productive Use of Energy Appliances in Agriculture: The Advantages of Pay-Per-Use
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) appliances — including solar refrigerators, water pumps and more — can boost productivity, income and quality of life in vulnerable communities. But as Ankur Singh, Argha Ghose and Clementine Chambon at Oorja explain, challenges like high upfront costs, lack of financing and poor after-sales service hinder their adoption among these consumers. They explore several business and end-user financing models that can support PUE uptake in agriculture, and explain why the pay-per-use model is uniquely suitable for low-income consumers.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Finance, Technology
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