In order to increase energy access in the DRC, USAID/DIV, the open innovation initiative of USAID, recently granted a grant to Baobab+, a seller of solar home systems in Western Africa and Madagascar.
The DRC’s Kinshasa, Kwilu, and Kikwit regions have been added to Baobab+ since its inception in 2021, and Kwango will soon be included. Additionally present in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Madagascar, Nigeria, and the DRC, Baobab+ has outfitted 250,000 households over the course of the last six years, benefiting more than 1.5 million recipients.
With only 9% of the population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) having access to power, there is a severe lack of energy availability. Many of the 11 million families without power rely on costly and environmentally damaging small-scale diesel generators, charcoal, and wood.
The DRC’s forests are depleted by these common energy sources, and getting supplies often necessitates long distance travel, which disproportionately affects women and children. Rural homes without access to power have an incredible chance thanks to solar energy. The Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) system lowers the barrier to entry by enabling customers to activate their products by making daily, weekly, or monthly payments in accordance with their cash flow.
Access to finance and digital
A large proportion of the population of sub-Saharan Africa also lacks access to credit – 74% in the DRC and 80% in Senegal – due to a lack of collateral or credit history to secure loans.
To increase access to finance in sub-Saharan Africa, Baobab+, in partnership with its microfinance parent company the Baobab Group, complements its energy business by offering nano loans to customers with successful records of paying down their solar product loans. DIV also supports this nano-loan pilot in Senegal to help reach the base of the pyramid; this offer will later be available in other countries as well.
Access to energy is also a springboard to enable every African household to take part in the digital revolution. In Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Madagascar, Baobab+ has been a pioneer in launching a PAYG smartphone offer.
Alexandre Coster, Co-founder and CEO of Baobab+: “We sincerely thank DIV for their support. This grant was key in our development. It allowed us to expand in the DRC and get started faster.”
