Social enterprise development and renewable energy dissemination in Africa: The experience of the community charging station model in Sierra Leone

Paul Munro, Greg van der Horst, Simon Willans, Preston Kemeny, Ame Christiansen and Nicole Schiavone
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Paul Munro: School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Greg van der Horst: School of Geography University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Simon Willans: Energy For Opportunity, Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Preston Kemeny: Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Ame Christiansen: College of Education, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Nicole Schiavone: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.

Progress in Development Studies, 2016, vol. 16, issue 1, 24-38

Abstract: In many parts of Africa, the spread of grid electrical networks into rural areas has remained a pernicious challenge. There has been a persistent bias towards expanding electricity access to urban centres, perhaps understandably as they are the main drivers of national economic growth. In contrast, the expansion of grid electricity networks into rural areas is largely seen as being financially unviable and thus is unlikely to be achieved in the foreseeable future. Using the example of energy kiosks in Sierra Leone, this paper examines the potential commercial and policy implications of a social enterprise approach to address this impasse. Specifically, the success of the community charging station model of one non-governmental organization, Energy For Opportunity, is evaluated in the context of ongoing commercial viability, the overcoming of financial and technological barriers, and the lack of for-profit entities in the market. This case study demonstrates how an innovative blending of non-profit and for-profit models of development interventions can provide effective institutional arrangements to realize solar electrification in rural Africa.

Keywords: Africa; Sierra Leone; solar power; social enterprise; renewable energy; moral economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:prodev:v:16:y:2016:i:1:p:24-38

DOI: 10.1177/1464993415608080

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