The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that 548 million people in SSA currently have no access to electricity in their homes. Over the last two decades, the rate of rural electrification has been rapid due to grid extension programs in Asia, Latin America, and parts of Africa.

Yet in many regions, geographic variables and low rural population density make grid extension too costly a method to provide electricity access for every household. In order to fill the gaps, governments and development organizations have used off-grid solutions to provide rural households and villages with access to electricity.

One of the ways in which rural electricity access has been addressed through off-grid renewable energy solutions is through a market-based approach, which centers on the role of social enterprises (SEs). Such SEs have concentrated their efforts in rural areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and South Asia where poverty rates are high and grid connection is unlikely in the medium or long term.

There are numerous SEs whose objective is to provide poor rural households access to affordable solar home systems (SHSs) and pico-solar lights for lighting and charging cell phones. These include SunnyMoney, Ilumexico, Azur, as well as many others. SEs’ efforts have been notably helpful in SSA, wherein 2018, it is estimated that 25 million people receive household electricity access through SHSs and pico-solar lights purchased from SEs.

A 2017 report by Acumen Solutions examined the major challenges preventing the scaling of this method in SSA, finding that up-front costs, lack of availability in terms of finance and selection, as well as lack of knowledge of the product have prevented more rural households from purchasing SHSs or pico-solar lights. The report also identified and evaluated various strategies used by SEs to alleviate these barriers.

In order to alleviate the barrier of up-front costs, SEs have offered different payment plans, such as rent to own (households make periodic payments that eventually lead to ownership), perpetual leasing (households pay for electricity consumption but never own the product), and mobile money payment systems.

SEs have also utilized other strategies to increase access and publicize their products for furthering adoption. For example, in Senegal, SunneyMoney has utilized a “Lighting Library” model, which allows students in rural schools to rent pico-solar lights and small SHSs for cellphone charging. Through this model, SunneyMoney found that 35% of families in the targeted schools eventually purchased a product, compared to only 12% in other schools where this was not offered.

This approach has helped disseminate increased knowledge regarding off-grid renewable energy solutions in poor-rural areas of Senegal. However, it may be difficult to replicate this intervention, as it required a high amount of initial investment, indicating that outside financial support may be needed for scalability.