In Sub-Saharan Africa electricity reaches only about half of the population. Connecting people to the grid, especially those living in rural and remote areas, is considered difficult due to the high costs it implies. Fortunately, small scale solar and off-grid technologies offer potential solutions. They can be deployed more rapidly and are often the most appropriate and affordable option to meet customer needs.

Accessing finance

Many entrepreneurs are looking for opportunities to scale-up their solutions but face major hurdles when accessing finance. GET.invest supports entrepreneurs in overcoming these hurdles. Through its advisory facility, the Finance Catalyst, GET.invest provides a range of services that help projects and businesses become bankable, and links them to finance opportunities. Partners for Innovation is implementing this Financial Catalyst service since 2016.

The small scale off-grid and decentralized solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa we supported include:

Solving the distribution puzzle to scale up solar infrastructure – Mpower to achieve reliable solar energy access in Cameroon, Ghana, Namibia, Togo and Zambia by delivering a wide range of small and medium-scale solar energy infrastructure

Democratic Republic of Congo’s entrepreneurs reaching out to the off-grid 90% – Altech supplies people throughout DRC with affordable energy products with their highly popular solar-powered lighting leading the way – paid for in manageable instalments

A fridge for off-grid businesses, come rain or shine in Nigeria– Koolbox, an Nigerian company is answering the question whether an affordable solar-powered fridge could be a clean third choice if the sunshine goes away? It’s revamping the economics of the off-grid cold chain.

Uniting women’s empowerment with energy access in Rwanda– MUNYAX ECO, a 100% women-owned and led company provides training to the local youth and women, preparing a new cadre of women technicians and leading to an inclusive solar energy sector capable of tackling energy poverty.

Reinventing high-quality solar appliances with affordable solutions– Present all over sub-Saharan Africa with an extensive network of B2B distributors, Amped Innovation has so far reached over 150,000 end-users with different solar-powered products such as lighting, televisions, fridges, and power generators.

Intelligent micro-grids for flexible and affordable energy in Mali and Benin FlexGrid is developing micro-grids across sub-Saharan Africa., The company uses Swarm Intelligence technology where the power generation system – mostly solar – can grow organically along with the energy demand of the grid. The company installs, owns and operates the micro-grids – and charges with a fully prepaid credit system. Listen to the podcast

Pioneering efforts to electrify remote villages in Lesotho – OnePower Lesotho has taken the initiative of a mini-grid portfolio to bring electricity to 11 of Lesotho’s remote mountain villages.Rather than looking at each mini-grid in isolation, the company has bundled construction and operation into a more efficient portfolio approach. The combined installed capacity will be over 1.5MW. Listen to the podcast.

Burundi’s first non-diesel IPP – Gigawatt Global, is working on a 7.5 MW solar field in Burundi, where 92% of the population do not have access to electricity. Located in the Eastern providence of Gitega, the installation will rely on more than 25,000 solar panels to supply clean power to over 87,000 people and businesses. Listen to the podcast.

Modern energy solutions by women for women in Kenia – Bidhaa Sasa aims to pave the way for off-grid energy access and other household and farm goods in rural areas. The Kenyan start-up combines last-mile distribution with in-house credit in a one-stop shop for customers, offering a wide range of products including solar lamps and systems, efficient cookstoves, LPG kits and farm equipment.

Reaching last-mile communities with tailored solar solutions in Cameroon Off-grid solutions are sorely needed in Cameroon, where four in five households are not connected to the national grid. Since 2015, France and Cameroon-based developer upOwa has been narrowing this energy gap by providing easy access to solar power to rural communities.

Powering up off-grid homes in Mozambique and Malawi – SolarWorks! offers solar home systems and energy services on a pay-as-you-go basis to customers in Mozambique and Malawi. from small systems that include lights and mobile-charging capacity to bigger ones that power televisions, refrigerators, and sewing machines, Customers pay small amounts every month. Listen to the podcast.

82 MW solar project for Guinea – CleanPower Generation develops renewable energy solutions for sub-Saharan Africa. The German company is working on an 82 MW solar project in Guinea, one of the largest independent solar power production projects in the West African region.

Enabling clean energy access with smart cooking and solar electricity in Lesotho and Uganda African Clean Energy (ACE) has developed a ustainable alternative: a solution that combines the positive impact of a cookstove with the PAYG business model and the basic features of a solar home system.

Irrigating Sudan’s alfalfa fields with solar power – Local corporation Haggar, Dutch solar developer Photon Energy and Swiss Energy Vault are developing a captive solar PV transaction with a new storage solution to supply clean power for irrigation purposes to the GLB farm, a growing agribusiness located about 100 km north of Khartoum.

Bringing off-grid power to rural fishers and farmers in Tanzania and Uganda Tanzania-based social business Simusolar provides and financessolar equipment for productive use. Based on a lease-to-own model and a wireless ‘Internet of Things’ PAYGo-platform, the company sells affordable solar-powered lights for fishing and irrigation systems for smallholder farming. Listen to the podcast.

Interested?

For more information about GET.invest Finance Catalyst, contact Carla Logan or Peter Vissers.