16:00 to 17:00

Finance: energy as a consumer service

It worked for telecoms and, increasingly, it seems it can work for electricity access. This session will discuss financial instruments and strategies, and new approaches to consumers in a period when millions more Africans are becoming financially empowered and buying a range of basic services.

• The role of mobile operators and large corporations in off-grid solar power.
• What new sources of funding, including institutional investment, are available?
• Strategies for catalyzing more local capital, both on the equity and debt sides.
• Impact investors and charitable enterprises – critical so far, but a transitional phase?
• Equity – attracting private finance, conventional developers, developing local partnerships. Are new commercial models emerging as quickly as we are told?
• Debt – the role of concessionary finance, operating with local banks and other institutions.