Solar Home Systems in Uganda Refugee Settlements
Credit: PAYGo financing at work on a customer’s mobile phone in Uganda. (FINCA)
Project Client: United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Project Dates: 11/4/2018–5/3/2020
Project Location(s): Uganda
Project Description:
This USAID-sponsored project accelerated off-grid investment and energy access by incentivizing private-sector Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) solar home system (SHS) companies to enter Kiryandongo and Rwamwanja refugee settlements and host communities. GPTech implemented the 18-month project in partnership with Energy 4 Impact. GPTech implemented a grant program that addressed critical opportunities to increase investment in electrical infrastructure. The grants de-risked providing access to SHSs in Kiryandongo and Rwamwanja refugee settlements and their host communities. Specifically, GPTech led the following efforts:
designed a grant program to encourage applications that furthered innovation and reduced the knowledge, product, financial, and risk barriers to serving refugee communities;
implemented the milestone-based grant program that includes funding for private-sector PAYGO SHS companies; and
documented lessons learned from grant-supported activities and prepared public materials to share this information with USAID’s Power Africa and the Smart Communities Coalition.
Goals & Achievements:
The grants have successfully increased private-sector PAYGO SHS company participation in the refugee settlements and host communities. The three grantees—BrightLife, Fenix International, and SolarNow—are actively operating and selling SHSs in the refugee settlements of Kiryandongo and Rwamwanja and the adjacent host communities, continuing operations after the project’s closure. Prior to the project, SHS companies were interested in refugee settlements, but the risks and unknown conditions presented too high of a barrier to market entry. The grants significantly de-risked barriers, enabling the grantees to gain access to operate in the settlements, set up new operations, learn the product preferences of the refugee market, adapt marketing materials to local languages, and revise staff recruitment and retention practices of a new labor market.
Grantees sold a combined 4,137 SHSs. Refugees accounted for 22% of sales and women accounted for 31%. The grantees far exceeded the employment target of 15 new jobs, instead creating 285 jobs, consisting of salaried staff and commission-based sales agents.
