Enabling Access to Energy at the BoP

The focus on renewable sources of energy has been reinforced in recent weeks by the BP oil spill off the Gulf Coast in the U.S. While one part of the globe voraciously consumes energy, 1.6 billion people globally have no access to electricity. A further 3 million still use traditional biomass for cooking, the health hazards of which have been substantially documented.

However, there are several – mainly local entrepreneurs – that are offering valuable energy solutions to this very segment of people. Most of these enterprises are removed from the traditional energy enterprises, and offer solutions based on local needs, and local possibilities. The Ashoka Network, in collaboration with Hystra, a hybrid organization that works with business and social sector entrepreneurs to design and implement strategies for the BoP, conducted a study on the work of these enterprises.

The study, “Access to Energy for the Base of the Pyramid,” is an in-depth look at several market-based approaches to BoP energy requirements. It looks at the different kind of technology available such as:

• Grid connections: which turns the BoP into legal, paying consumers
• Devices: such as solar lanterns and biomass cook stoves
• Solar home systems: Which deliver electricity to households

It also looks at systemic support to deliver these solutions. These include the roles of co-operatives which take on that challenge of providing sustainable power supply and create income generating opportunities, and the role of finance and various financing intermediaries.  It also makes recommendations for action, outlined for various system enablers – aid agencies, governments, social investors and so on.

The study puts out two interesting observations – that it is not only important to focus on providing solutions that are cost and need-efficient, but also to optimize “human capital.” And secondly, that the most successful social entrepreneurs are also the ones who have tried harder to get the users who were implied in the value-addition process involved.

Download the entire report via the Hystra website.