Speedy Adoption of Solar Home Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa

Akinola Sunday Oladeji

Abstract

Despite the strong commitment of various countries around the world towards energizing the unserved population in their communities, around 1.3 billion people still lack access to affordable and reliable electricity. Interestingly, technological advancement is gradually reducing the cost of investing in off-grid renewable energy solutions. Developing an appropriate business model can play a vibrant role in electrifying off-grid rural communities. Literature on various business models for rural electrification has revealed that the model for off-grid rural areas in emerging nations should be service-based, scalable to several use case scenarios, and permit transparentness and superiority of service. This paper intends to present the business model for the speedy adoption of solar home systems in sub-Saharan Africa. The work further looks into the existing business models in rural electrification. It suggests insights for stakeholders to subscribe to the scalable-pay-as-you-go (SPAYG) business model in the SSA countries in their bids to fast-track the deployment and adoption of green electricity to rural households and businesses. It was established based on the survey that the adoption of upgrades by various PAYG SHS companies in their business model will further accelerate the speedy of electrification access via PAYG SHS. 

Keywords

Solar Photovoltaic, Electrification, Grid, Business Model, Technological Advancement, Rural Areas, Pay-as-You-Go, Off-grid.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.47238/ijeca.v10i1.251

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