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A Decade in, Why the Pay-As-You-Go Solar Sector is Maturing and Brightening
This month marks nine years since Jesse Moore and Nick Hughes first sketched out a plan for M-KOPA - one of the early leaders in the pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar market. Since then, M-KOPA has installed PAYG solar systems in over 750,000 African homes, and now receives over 30 million customer micropayments per year, writes Moore. He estimates that PAYG solar will soon reach over 10 million customers and surpass a billion dollars in cumulative revenue – but he cautions that the industry should gird itself for a wave of consolidation as it embarks on its second decade.
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- Energy, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Employee Engagement, Investor Value: Why the Time has Come for Inclusive Employee Ownership in Emerging Markets
Employee ownership programs are increasingly common in developed countries, but in emerging markets, there are few companies that give equity to all employees. Solar home system provider Fenix International decided to buck that trend in Uganda, on the request of their local employees. Fenix CEO Lyndsay Handler discusses the transformative changes sparked by that decision – and advocates for a similar approach in other companies in Africa and beyond.
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- Energy
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The Path to 100 Gigawatts: How India Has Emerged as a Global Leader in Solar Energy
India has displaced Japan as the third-largest market for solar power and is poised to bump the U.S. from the No. 2 spot, as it works toward boosting its renewable capacity to 100 gigawatts by the end of 2022. Though it still relies on coal plants and has dangerous air pollution levels, the landscape is changing fast, with 14 new solar parks planned – including one that's set to become the world’s largest. Sahaj Desai outlines the momentum and challenges behind India's renewable energy revolution.
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- Energy
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Redefining What It Means to be a Next-Generation Energy Company in Africa
More than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa lack electricity. Distributed energy service companies face many obstacles in serving this market - from finding the right capital investors to cultivating on-the-ground expertise. Mansoor Hamayun, CEO of solar distributed energy firm BBOXX, says his company is taking aim at several of those challenges with a new financing mechanism. In partnership with Bamboo Capital Partners, BBOXX is launching an investment platform that aims to break down barriers preventing energy companies from scaling up in developing markets.
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- Energy, Environment
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For Solar Irrigation to Grow, the Pump Needs to be Innovative – So Does the Warranty
Helen Davies at Futurepump writes that the startup has developed a cost-effective, solar-based pump to irrigate crops that is simple to use and maintain, and designed specifically with small rural farms in mind. The firm has already sold 4,000 units and is distributing in 11 African and Asian countries. But beyond the technology, an equally important innovation is the company's five-year warranty on the product, which Davies says is an industry first. She makes the case that solar device makers operating in low-income markets need to stand behind their products with warrantees and service, if customers are going to trust the technology and the manufacturers.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Technology
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‘Eye-opening’ Impact Assessment: How Benchmarks Can Boost Social and Business Outcomes
For the last ten years, Acumen has been investing in off-grid energy companies in the developing world. In its new Energy Impact Report, the impact investing nonprofit talked directly to thousands of customers about their experiences - good and bad - with these companies’ energy products. Acumen's Kat Harrison discusses the survey's revealing results.
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- Energy, Impact Assessment, Investing
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Solar power pay-as-you-go projects in Africa are getting major funding
Services that allow customers to pay for solar equipment and service in small installments have picked up momentum in the past couple of years, particularly in East Africa. Two firms that supply solar power products with pay-as-you-go products have raised a total of $75 million in financing this month to back up that long-held vision.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Solar + Housing = Impact: Why Investors Should Boost Renewable Energy in Affordable Housing
When it comes to off-grid solar energy, we tend to think of market extremes such as rural poor people in developing countries without any electricity or well-off people in developed countries looking to charge up their Teslas. But Lori Chatman of Enterprise Community Loan Fund and Ismael Guerrero of the Denver Housing Authority detail a project to bring green power to public housing residents in the Mile High City. The project could serve as a model for impact investors looking to improve health, expand green jobs and earn a return.
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