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PUE at the BoP: Three Approaches To Making Productive Uses Of Energy Accessible To All
Productive Use of Energy (PUE) technologies, such as solar water pumps, refrigeration and sewing machines, are crucial for helping smallholder farmers and other microentrepreneurs generate incomes. But as Christopher Emmott at Acumen explains, the high up-front costs of PUE appliances prevent many people at the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) from purchasing them. He shares some innovative approaches and business models that can enable vulnerable communities to access these life-changing technologies.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Press Release: GOGLA and IKEA Foundation Announce Transformative Scaling Pure Partnership at the South Asia Forum for Distributed Energy (SAFDE)
GOGLA, the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry, and the IKEA Foundation are delighted to announce a strategic partnership to scale the productive use of renewable energy (PURE) across Asia and Africa.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Global
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GOGLA Launches a Handbook for Policymakers Aiming to Scale the Productive Use of Renewable Energy
Along with the Government of Uganda, a national Roadmap to scale the productive use of solar energy is also being launched in Kampala.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Global
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A Blueprint for Productive Use of Clean Energy: An Accelerator in Nigeria Generates Solutions for Linking Mini-Grids to Agricultural Equipment in Rural Communities
There are over 70 mini-grids operating in Nigeria today, and similar businesses are delivering clean energy in other underserved communities around the world. But as Scarlett Santana at RMI explains, serving these markets presents unique challenges, since if customers lack productive uses for the electricity they sell, mini-grids’ revenue model fails. She explores how mini-grids can address this challenge by partnering with agricultural equipment providers, and discusses an accelerator co-led by RMI that is providing the ecosystem to make these partnerships happen.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
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Press Release: UNDP to Support Seven Innovative Financial Solutions for Clean Energy in East Africa
The seven solutions are the winners of the UNDP Climate Aggregation Platform Financial Innovation Challenge which aims to crowdsource innovative financial aggregation solutions for clean energy assets in East Africa.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Outgrowing the Flower Pot: Why Just Selling Productive Equipment to Smallholder Farmers is Not Enough
A new wave of companies are bringing equipment powered by renewable, decentralized energy to smallholders, and these devices can significantly boost farmers' yields and product quality. But as Daniel Waldron, Christopher Emmott, Priyanka Dudeja, Paraag Sabhlok and Chris Wayne at Acumen explain, just like a tree growing in a flower pot, this new growth can become a burden if it has nowhere to go. They argue that productive equipment must be combined with market access interventions to truly benefit smallholders, and highlight two innovative companies that are demonstrating the impact of this approach.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Press Release: New Roadmap Says Minigrid Industry Needs 10 Companies with 10 Times Current Scale to Achieve Universal Energy Access and SDG7
Husk Power Systems released the first-ever industry roadmap for minigrid developers for achieving scale and sustainability.
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press Release: CLASP & Nithio, With Support From the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, Launch Financing Facility for Productive Use Appliances
Access to productive use appliances can deliver significant economic, health, education, and quality of life benefits.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa