Remittances

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 full details on REMMP project, click here


Linking Energy and Microfinance: Promoting Innovations That Foster Scale

Arc published and disseminated in depth research on new financial products that MFIs are developing to blend financing with energy and water around the world. The creation of these financial products - including lending, savings, remittances and leasing products - resulted in new alliances between MFIs and other entities such as energy and water enterprises to provide livelihood enhancement products to the poor.


Rural Clean Energy Project: Latin America

Arc is executing a project designed by the World Bank/IFC to increase access to clean rural electrification in Latin America. Arc is analyzing the existing 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 upon the existing business models through introducing additional products and services, promoting alliances with financial institutions, and suggesting new financing mechanisms such as carbon finance and remittances, thereby facilitating expansion and replication.



Financing Sustainable Energy through Remittances Flows

Arc is delivering small-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency products and technologies in Bolivia financed through remittances. The goal of the project is to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions, improve resilience of low-income households to climate impacts on the energy sector, to reduce the cost for energy in urban and rural low-income households, and to raise awareness about cleaner and less energy intensive energy sources.


Financing Small-Scale Clean Energy Using Remittances

With assistance from Arc, Sogexpress, a Money Transfer Organization, has tapped into the multi-billion-dollar remittance stream from the Haitian diaspora to supply small-scale clean energy solutions to Haitians lacking energy services. In this Briefing Note, read a synopsis of Sogexpress’ pioneering remittances model, which is successfully supplying solar products to those who need them most. View PDF ►


Using Remittances to Finance Clean Energy: Inspiring the Haitian Diaspora to Combat Climate Change

Haiti has one of the lowest electricity access rates in the world, with only 12.5% of its population legally connected to the grid. Remittances offer a new solution for helping to finance the purchase and distribution of energy devices. Given its energy needs, and the size and location of its diaspora-based population, Haiti was an ideal country to test a remittances-backed business model for clean energy. The model uses remittance flows to facilitate the purchase and distribution of small-scale renewable energy devices, thereby fostering the use of clean and efficient energy technology among the energy-poor. View PDF ►


Financing Sustainable Energy Through Remittance Flows in Haiti and the Dominican Republic

2009 Arc Finance / BASE Arc Finance, BASE, and the Mexican market research firm Mercaei collaborated on a research project to assess the feasibility of using remittances to finance renewable energy products. The project team conducted market research with Haitian and Dominican immigrants in the New York area to understand and assess their interest in tying a portion of their remittances to an energy loan or savings product in the receiving country. The Dominican Republic and Haiti made excellent “laboratory” sites for this research because of similarities in immigrant populations, high remittance volumes, and geographical proximity. Their differences — in […]