Arc Projects: Asset Finance
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.
Rural Clean Energy Project: Latin America
In partnership with the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), Arc implemented a project funded by the World Bank/IFC to increase access to clean rural electrification in Latin America. Arc analyzed the business models of three Latin American organizations active in the energy sector (Emprenda in Peru and Argentina, Ecami in Nicaragua, and IDEAAS in Brazil) with the goal of improving the existing business models through introducing additional products and services, promoting alliances with financial institutions, and suggesting new financing mechanisms such as carbon finance, thereby facilitating expansion and replication.
Arc Knowledge Products: Asset Finance
Arc Finance Fact Sheet
Arc Finance’s mission is to promote and expand access to financing for energy, water and other basic needs to build the income and assets of poor people around the world. Read our Fact Sheet (PDF).►
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 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).►
Lighting Lives in Rural India: Mala’s Story
Arc Finance is committed to sharing the impact of its programs in terms of increased availability of consumer financing for clean energy products and services. This Impact Story profiles the experiences of a Simpa Networks client as she navigates life in rural India. Read our Impact Story (PDF). ►
REMMP Energy Diaries Fact Sheet
The Energy Diaries is a new research methodology that studies energy uses and spending at the household level. The objective is to improve understanding of the daily realities of the energy poor, understand how energy poverty may impact women and men differently, illustrate what these gendered needs suggest about optimal energy products and services for this market, and identify relevant policy implications for stakeholders to better meet the needs of poor households. Read our Energy Diaries 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. ►
Simpa Networks Brings “Pay-as-You-Go” to Rural Consumers
Simpa Networks uses asset finance to provide electricity to off-grid rural communities through modular, expandable Solar Home Systems (SHSs). Through its proprietary “Progressive Purchase” metering technology, Simpa’s clients pay to use their Solar Home Systems through monthly pre-paid installments, and own the assets by the end of the period, making solar technology “radically affordable” and bringing the social and economic benefits of modern energy to underserved communities. Read our Case Study (PDF). ►
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). ►
Innovations in Financing Event, NYC 2014
This series of six videos captures a full-day 2014 workshop entitled “Innovations in Financing 2015: Evolving Consumer Finance Business Models.” 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. ►
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). ►
Innovations in Financing Event, NYC 2013
Innovations in Financing Small Scale Clean Energy, a full-day workshop organized by Arc Finance in conjunction with USAID and the Sustainable Energy for All Energy Access Practitioner Network, brought together a range of stakeholders to discuss the innovations in financing now being deployed in the small-scale, clean energy space. These sessions were made possible with generous support from USAID. Watch our video series. ►