Broadening energy access for poor households in rural malawi: How pico solar, mobile money, and cloud-based services are being combined to address energy exclusion

David Walwyn, Rebecca Hanlin · 2022 · Frontiers in Energy Research

Summary. In rural Malawi, most poor households lack electricity and cannot afford solar systems upfront. A solar company called Yellow combined pay-as-you-go payments, mobile money, and cloud-based services into a platform called Ofeefee that delivers affordable solar lighting to off-grid communities. This approach provides better quality lighting at lower cost than traditional options, while avoiding exploitative microfinance. The paper argues that energy access programs should distinguish between energy and lighting to better address the specific needs of energy-poor communities.

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@article{walwyn-2022-broadening-energy-access-poor-households,
  title   = {Broadening energy access for poor households in rural malawi: How pico solar, mobile money, and cloud-based services are being combined to address energy exclusion},
  author  = {David Walwyn and Rebecca Hanlin},
  journal = {Frontiers in Energy Research},
  year    = {2022},
  doi     = {10.3389/fenrg.2022.877307},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2022.877307}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - Broadening energy access for poor households in rural malawi: How pico solar, mobile money, and cloud-based services are being combined to address energy exclusion
AU  - David Walwyn
AU  - Rebecca Hanlin
JO  - Frontiers in Energy Research
PY  - 2022
DO  - 10.3389/fenrg.2022.877307
UR  - https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2022.877307
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.3389/fenrg.2022.877307

Countries

Malawi

Categories

energy, broadband-and-digital, entrepreneurship

Added

2026-04-28