Encouraging results in West Africa for improving access to renewable energy in rural areas

To meet its strategic priority of facilitating access to basic services for vulnerable households, ADA recently completed two pilot projects focusing on access to renewable energy in rural areas of Senegal and Benin with conclusive results.

Access to energy is considered a basic service because it is a prerequisite of development of any kind. Yet according to the The Energy Progress Report 2024 680 million people worldwide still had no access to electricity in 2022, 83% of whom were located in sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, there are significant and ever-growing disparities between urban and rural areas in terms of access to electricity.

To address this problem, ADA launched pilot projects for solar mini-grid operators in rural areas of Senegal and Benin. The aim was to develop their skills and to help their customers use the energy productively by facilitating access to efficient equipment and tailored financial services.

Qotto: a partner combining financial inclusion with access to energy in Benin 

Qotto is an essential services operator that provides pay-as-you-go solar kits to vulnerable people in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Benin. Users are invoiced as and when they use the platform’s services.

Thanks to ADA’s support, and in partnership with MFI Cap Finance, Qotto introduced nano loans disbursed via the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) digital platform, which can be used by small business owners for their working capital needs.

The pilot project made it possible to grant 106 nano loans to small business owners having acquired a solar kit. Based on these results, Qotto expects to disburse 1,000 loans by the end of 2024. 

Given that many potential customers of solar kit companies do not have an online payment account, ADA also supports the installation of multi-service kiosks in villages by Qotto and Moov Africa Benin. Managed by small business owners, these kiosks sell both solar kits and the e-money needed to pay the monthly instalments linked to the PAYG system.

ADA notably helped train the Qotto and Moov Africa Benin teams in supporting business owners and by developing training modules for them. A total of 109 kiosks were created in villages during the project. 

PFE Mbiddi: boosting entrepreneurship in rural areas in Senegal

In the Mbiddi municipality and its surrounding villages, around 6,000 inhabitants benefit from the goods and services provided by the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) connected to the solar mini-grid managed by PFE Mbiddi. However, the majority of MSMEs focused on similar activities such as the sale of ice cream and various fresh products. They therefore need to diversify their activities to adapt to the seasons and to generate income throughout the year to ensure the energy platform’s economic viability. 

To meet this need, in collaboration with Le Partenariat, ADA implemented a series of initiatives to strengthen the entrepreneurial skills of the MSMEs and facilitate their access to financial services. ADA also helped PFE Mbiddi manage its business better by supporting the diversification of its activities and putting it in contact with partners in the renewable energy and microfinance ecosystem.

The results of this project include 75% revenue growth for the very small enterprises concerned, improved access to financial services for small business owners, job creation and preservation. The use of solar energy as a source of electricity also reduced dependence on fossil fuels, thus avoiding the release into the atmosphere of the equivalent of 222 tonnes of CO2 between 2020 and 2023.