Arc Projects: Uganda
Renewable Energy Microfinance and Microenterprise Program (REMMP)
Arc is testing, piloting and expanding a number of business models that are focused on financing for sustainable energy including microfinance, remittances, asset finance, crowd-funding and pay as you go mechanisms. The end goal of REMMP is to increase access to finance for end users of clean energy services so as to improve livelihoods and quality of life among these target recipients.
For details on the REMMP project, click here.
Linking Energy and Microfinance: Promoting Innovations That Foster Scale
With support from the Citibank Foundation, Arc published and disseminated in-depth research on innovative affordability mechanisms for off-grid, clean energy. The projected documented how these financial products – including lending, savings, remittances and leasing products – have dramatically improved the livelihoods of poor people around the world.
For details on this project, click here.
Arc Knowledge Products: Uganda
Arc Finance Impact Fact Sheet
Arc Finance is committed to measuring the impact of all its programs in terms of increased availability of consumer financing for clean energy products and services. Arc also measures and reports on other indicators we view as important for our development agenda. Read our Impact Fact Sheet (PDF). ►
Arc Finance REMMP Fact Sheet
USAID’s Renewable Energy Microfinance and Microenterprise Program (REMMP) is designed to improve access to modern energy services in underserved communities, while at the same time helping USAID partners reduce carbon emissions. A key goal of REMMP is to increase the availability of consumer financing for clean energy services and products to enable low-income populations to gain access to technologies that can improve their livelihoods and quality of life while mitigating climate change. Read our Fact Sheet (PDF). ►
Arc Finance REMMP Impact Fact Sheet
Arc Finance is committed to measuring the impact of its programs in terms of increased availability of consumer financing for clean energy products and services. Arc also measures and reports on other indicators we view as important for our development agenda. Read our Impact Fact Sheet (PDF). ►
Arc Country Fact Sheet: Uganda
Arc Finance is committed to measuring the impact of all its programs in terms of increased availability of consumer financing for clean energy products and services. In Uganda, REMMP is working with SolarNow, a Uganda-based solar company that uses asset finance to provide electricity to off-grid rural communities through modular, expandable Solar Home Systems (SHS). Read our Country Fact Sheet (PDF).►
Going Green: Clean Energy that Spurs Economic Growth
Arc Finance is committed to sharing the economic and social impact of increased availability of consumer financing for clean energy products and services. This Photo Essay profiles the experiences of clients as they navigate life in rural India, Uganda and Haiti. Read our Photo Essay (PDF). ►
Innovations In Scaling Off-Grid Clean Energy Event, Washington, D.C. 2015
This series of seven videos captures a full-day 2015 workshop entitled “Innovations In Scaling Off-Grid Clean Energy: Business Models to Promote Consumer Financing.” Organized by Arc Finance in conjunction with USAID, the day featured stakeholders from across the sector discussing the latest innovations in scaling off-grid clean energy access to the poor. Watch our video series. ►
Innovations in Financing Event, NYC 2015
This series of four videos captures a full-day 2015 workshop entitled “Innovations in Financing: The Nexus Between Energy, Distribution And Finance.” Organized by Arc Finance in conjunction with USAID, the day featured stakeholders from across the sector discussing the latest innovations in consumer and institutional finance for providing small-scale clean energy access to the poor. Watch our video series. ►
SolarNow Brings Asset Finance for Solar to Rural Customers
SolarNow uses asset finance to provide electricity to off-grid rural communities through modular, expandable Solar Home Systems (SHSs). The SolarNow approach is to integrate an increasing range of energy efficient appliances into the company’s product line, a tactic that both improves lives and increases demand for its energy systems. Established as a social enterprise in May 2011, SolarNow grew out of the Rural Energy Foundation, a Dutch run NGO providing distribution and training support for the use of SHSs across Africa. Read our Case Study (PDF). ►
In-House Asset Finance for Small-Scale Renewable Energy
In-house asset finance provides customers with a pay plan that allows them to purchase a product on an installment basis. The benefits of providing in-house credit are compelling, but it is a complex and challenging undertaking. In this Briefing Note, read a synopsis of how four energy companies – SolarNow, Simpa Networks, Grameen Shakti and M-Kopa – have successfully developed an in-house asset finance capacity. Read our Briefing Note (PDF). ►
Pay-As-You-Go Technologies in Consumer Energy Finance
Many poor consumers can’t afford to pay for alternatives to expensive, low-quality energy sources, such as kerosene, candles and batteries, because of the up-front costs of solar systems and clean cookstoves. Pay-As-You-Go models (PAYG) allow customers to pay for energy services over time, spreading the cost of a unit over several months. In this Briefing Note, read about six innovative models and technologies from Azuri Technologies, Angaza Design, Lumeter Networks, M-KOPA, Fenix International and SIMPA Networks, and the many beneficial impacts of their work. Read our Briefing Note (PDF). ►
Solar Sister’s Energy Consignment Model — Women Micro-Retailers Drive Solar Product Adoption in East Africa
Founded in 2010, Solar Sister brings affordable solar lamps and small solar systems to communities in East Africa. Using an Avon-style distribution system, Solar Sister creates vital access to clean energy technology by building and extending the supply chain through women’s rural networks. Read our Case Study (PDF). ►
UpEnergy’s Carbon Credit Initiative — Driving Down the Costs of Clean Cookstove Adoption
UpEnergy is a San Francisco-based social enterprise that is a leader in the use of carbon credits in developing markets. It finances, builds, and supports distribution channels for products such as high efficiency cookstoves, water purification technologies, and solar lights using carbon credit mechanisms. In Uganda, UpEnergy has focused on cookstoves since launching in October 2011. Read our Case Study (PDF). ►