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PayGo vs. MFIs: What Works Better for Energy Access Consumer Financing – And Does it Have to Be Either/Or?
Many last-mile customers can’t afford clean energy products without financial solutions to help pay for them. Energy enterprises often meet this need in two different ways: by partnering with microfinance institutions (MFIs) to provide loans to customers, or by offering pay-as-you-go (PayGo) financing options. The United Nations Capital Development Fund’s CleanStart program has supported energy providers using both of these models, and Teresa Le, an energy finance consultant at the program, explores their relative merits and challenges.
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Solar products maker d.light raises $41 million from African investment firm, others
d.light Design Inc., a San Francisco-based solar lighting and power products maker with operations in India, has raised $41 million (about Rs 294 crore) in equity funding from a consortium led by Inspired Evolution, an Africa-focused investment advisory firm specialising in the energy sector.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Pulling Back the Curtain on a Social Enterprise Merger: Practicalities and Surprises as Two Companies Become One
When Pollinate Energy began executing its recent merger with a former competitor, Empower Generation, some stakeholders doubted they would succeed. But as its CEO Alexie Seller describes, though the two companies were based in different countries, their models and missions were similar. Even so, they faced multiple challenges – and more than a few surprises – in the merger process. In this revealing post, Seller explores what has worked, and what hasn’t, as the companies have combined.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
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Press release: SolarHome raises US$10 million in debt financing, targets 100,000 off-grid households in Myanmar by the end of 2019
The new funds will enable SolarHome, which has already installed close to 28,000 solar home systems, to accelerate expansion across Myanmar. Through this expansion, the company aims to reach 100,000 homes with its product packages that include budget, basic and premium solar system bundles for lighting and phone charging purposes, as well as TV bundles.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Press release: Sistema.bio attracts funding from Hivos-Triodos Fund
Hivos-Triodos Fund joins a group world-class impact and venture capital investors that support Sistema.bio’s mission to bring technology, training and financing to the smallholder farmers around the world.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Energy, Investing
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World’s first CO2 negative fuel to be presented at the UN Climate Summit
NextFuel is introducing a completely new energy solution to climate change that is CO2 negative, cheap, profitable and massively scalable in the form of a briquette made from elephant grass.
- Categories
- Energy
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Clean Power Sees First Win Over Fossil Fuels in Emerging Markets
Developing countries have added more clean power capacity than fossil fuel generation for the first time ever, charging ahead of wealthier nations in the global green energy push, according to Bloomberg NEF.
- Categories
- Energy
- Tags
- renewable energy
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ENGIE acquires controlling stake in Simpa Energy India
Simpa Energy India is the leading rural rooftop solar provider in India, selling solar home systems (SHS) to households and small businesses in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
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