“If you walk in the dark, you will stumble and you will fall but if you walk in the light, you constantly see things ahead of you and you can see opportunities... I know that the very blow of Africa’s transformation and life is what we do with electricity...” - Akinwumi Adesina, President of the AfDB
The challenge of energy provision in non-humanitarian contexts in Africa is characterized by, among others, lack of infrastructure, ineffective or absent government policy and crucially, affordability. The prohibitive cost of modern energy, though falling, seems to be the ultimate challenge to a sustained and sustainable energy provision for the vast majority of Africans living in poverty. The link between provision of energy and alleviation of poverty is proven and the complex scenarios most of the population faces need innovative solutions. Mobilization of the private sector coupled with policy changes to enable them to act could be a means of sustainable, cost effective and affordable energy provision.
The private sector is historically efficient and effective in innovating and providing services to paying customers, in pursuit of profit. This sort of focus and dedication to the end goal is sometime lacking in the implementation of on the ground actors trying to work in the traditional donor model of ending poverty. My experience of this is drawn from 4 years in the UK energy private sector and a year working with GVEP International, now Energy 4 Impact, on the ground in East Africa. Working as a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) advisor under the World Bank funded EBD project and SIDA funded CARE 2, I have proven cases where the inclusion of the private sector has enabled affordable energy access at an accelerated yet sustainable pace. This is in line with working towards Sustainable Development Goal 7.
The private sector is historically efficient and effective in innovating and providing services to paying customers, in pursuit of profit. This sort of focus and dedication to the end goal is sometime lacking in the implementation of on the ground actors trying to work in the traditional donor model of ending poverty. My experience of this is drawn from 4 years in the UK energy private sector and a year working with GVEP International, now Energy 4 Impact, on the ground in East Africa. Working as a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) advisor under the World Bank funded EBD project and SIDA funded CARE 2, I have proven cases where the inclusion of the private sector has enabled affordable energy access at an accelerated yet sustainable pace. This is in line with working towards Sustainable Development Goal 7.
One example of the effectiveness of this approach is the solar home system (SHS) sector in East Africa. The private sector, led by the likes of M-Kopa, Mobisol and Off-GridElectric, has devised innovative pricing solutions and remote monitoring technology to bring down the operational cost of solar for the individual. Through their “lease to own” system coupled with mobile money payment, they are enabling energy access to people who could only afford kerosene, at the same price as kerosene. The pace of growth demonstrated by these companies and thus the potential impact is much faster than traditional donation models and arguably more sustainable as both sides have something to lose; customers on one hand and investment in affordable clean energy on the other.
I worked with Energy 4 Impact to provide pro-bono business consultancy to clean energy SMEs. We helped refine business models, target growth strategies, form partnerships with other actors in the sector and access capital of various forms, all with the aim of making them investor ready. There is a wealth of innovation, problem solving and an impressive array of technologies and business models. However, I observed and understood a limiting factor for the private sector, specifically emerging social enterprises; lack of access to finance and the related business advisory services. If I was a donor in the energy sector, I would enable the private sector and make myself virtually redundant; this is where I would start.
Note: This is a guest post by MAKENA IRERI an Engineer, Energy professional and blogger. The idea will be further developed in the next post coming soon, stay tuned!! The images used were downloaded from Google, image credits to the owners.
Note: This is a guest post by MAKENA IRERI an Engineer, Energy professional and blogger. The idea will be further developed in the next post coming soon, stay tuned!! The images used were downloaded from Google, image credits to the owners.