Sharing Indian Social Entrepreneurs' Lessons for African Off Grid Energy

About this grant

Energy is widely acknowledged as a key tool to enhance economic growth and a country’s development. In Africa the predominant model of electricity generation and distribution is centralized, providing only 45 percent of the continent with electricity. In rural areas, less than 30 percent of the population has access to electricity from the centralized grids. For rural Tanzania, it is even more stark with less than 17 percent of the rural areas having access to energy. The Solar Energy Light Company Foundation, with 20 years of experience in off-grid energy access work in rural India, has supported key Tanzanian organizations to provide capacity building and business mentoring functions for young Tanzanian entrepreneurs. Over the next two years, the grantee will continue its ongoing work supporting the development of local energy entrepreneurs and increasing their capacities for energy access design, development, and deployment.