Millions of people lack access to the power grid, particularly in low-income rural areas of Africa and South Asia. If the current slow pace of electrification continues, 660 million people – most of them in Africa – will remain without electricity in 2030. Due to numerous challenges, people in off-grid settings typically have a lower quality of life, worse health outcomes, higher energy costs, and fewer economic opportunities than their grid-connected peers. High-quality, efficient off-grid solar appliances are a proven solution to these challenges.

This report – the third in the State of the Off-Grid Appliance Market series – finds that while the sector has strong fundamentals, it must rapidly grow in scale and ambition to avoid leaving people behind.

Key Findings: 

• Approximately 159 million off-grid solar fans, water pumps, refrigerators, and grain mills are needed to serve people who lack access to the electric grid. Less than 2% of this demand is being met, leaving more than half a billion people without life-changing appliances.

• There is a significant market opportunity of $58 billion USD for off-grid solar appliances like fans, water pumps, refrigerators, and grain mills.

• The off-grid appliance sector is characterized by a multitude of business models, reflecting a diverse range of technologies, end users, and operating environments. There is no one right business model; rather, chosen models need to be managed appropriately.
• Closing the energy service gap in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia requires exponential growth in the appliance sector. This can be achieved by deploying significantly more capital, strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration, and developing coherent policies and innovative business models.

Recommendations:  

• Governments should emphasize quality assurance and consumer protection through rigorous quality standards and tax and duty exemptions to make high-quality solar products more accessible; support an enabling environment by incentivizing local manufacturers and launching consumer awareness campaigns; and develop integrated policies by establishing cross-ministry task forces to integrate and harmonize policies and regulations.

• Investors, development partners, and financiers should encourage market entry by increasing the deployment of capital over the next ten years; create public-private partnerships by developing programs that combine public and private funding; integrate with climate finance by leveraging carbon credits and other climate finance mechanisms; and provide innovation funding to local and foreign technology innovators.

• Technology innovators should design appliances that meet the specific needs of local off-grid consumers; and enhance product durability and reliability that focuses on long-term user satisfaction and low maintenance costs.

• Venture builders and entrepreneurs should work to expand pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) models; leverage catalytic grants to innovate business models and build partnerships; and focus on specific market segments to enhance efficiency and increase market penetration.

• All market actors should prioritize user-centric data that directly benefits appliance users; harmonize methodologies that establish standardized tracking systems for assessing progress and informing policy decisions; and facilitate data sharing to inform decision-making and policy development.

Read the “Leave No One Behind: Bridging the Energy Access Gap with Innovative Off-Grid Solar Solutions” report.

About Efficiency for Access 

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote renewable and energy efficient appliances to deliver clean energy to the world’s poorest people. It is coordinated jointly by CLASP and the UK’s Energy Saving Trust.