About three billion people in the developing world are currently cooking on biomass in a very inefficient way, releasing smoke that causes 1.9 million premature deaths annually. Women and young children are the most affected. In addition, the use of biomass like wood increases pressures on local natural resources and forces women and children to spend many hours collecting wood. This is perceived tiring and sometimes dangerous. Inefficient cook stoves also contribute to climate change through the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, and aerosols such as black carbon.

 

The BoP Innovation Center is supporting a multi-stakeholder initiative for the development of a sustainable business for improved cooking stoves in Africa. A pilot is currently carried out in Lesotho.

 

Success factors: social embeddedness

Sectors: Energy

Partners: N.C.

BoP region: Africa

Role of the BoP Innovation Center: support and facilitate the project,

Contact person: Helene Mancheron (mancheron @bopinc. org)

CERAM: Brazilian Renewable Energy Services Consortium

With this initiative we are engaged in developing a successful BoP enterprise focussed at creating a business eco-system that delivers value to local people and communities in multiple ways, not just a single product for a single market, by realizing sustainable mini grids providing energy services to underserved businesses and communities and provide off-grid household and remote location energy services.

A diversified business venture/consortium in which IDEAAS, a social enterprise in Brazil, Martins Group (Brazil's largest wholesale distribution company, now serves over 300,000 of small retailers nationwide and considers itself not just in the distribution business, but in the business of making its customers more competitive) and key local partners like ORSA Group/ORSA Foundation are focussed at realizing sustainable (energy) services.

ICCO (a Dutch international development organisation), ORSA Foundation/ORSA Group supported by BoP Innovation Center initiated this incubation in 2011 to address the challenge of realizing sustainable energy services for rural communities in the Jari Region in the Brazilian Amazon. 

With support from the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) the consortium establishes a pilot in Jarí and develops the business plan. By the end of 2012 several impact investors have expressed interest for investing in the new venture. During 2013 the venture will be realized.

Theme: Energy

Partners: Grupo Orsa, ICCO, IDEAAS, REEEP, Martins Group

BoP region: South America

Role of the BoP Innovation Center: strategy, business planning, incl. innovation support and match making

Contact person: Taco de Nies ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

A sustainable opportunity to address the energy needs and demand in low income markets is small-scale production of electricity from biogas. Many rural households in Africa and Asia are using household biogas digesters, and the market forecast for biogas digesters in low-income markets that have no outlook for being served by structural affordable energy services provides provides an opportunity to venture in t

These digesters produce gas that is used for cooking. With the ‘BioGas Socket’, a affordable product to generate energy from biogas, these households will be able to meet basic energy demand that can be used for charging cell phones or functional lighting.

Expected market introduction end 2013 in 2-3 markets in Africa and Asia.

A collective initiative from SIMGAS, -- an innovative design and production private sector company focused on delivering affordable small-scale biogas systems to customers in (sub)tropical regions--, TNO (an independent research organisation), SNV (an international development organisation), BoP Innovation Center and local partners.

Theme: Energy

Partners: SIMGAS, TNO, SNV

BoP region: Africa, Asia

Role of the BoP Innovation Center: strategy, business planning, inclusive innovation support

Contact person: Taco de Nies ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

The challenge: Access to clean, affordable and reliable energy is a fundamental driver of economic growth, environmental sustainability and social development. Still 1.4 billion people around the world lack access to electricity, while 2.7 billion people cook with traditional biomass.  According to latest forecasts (source International Energy Agency) 1.2 billion people in 2030 will still lack access to electricity. The global electrification rate will rise from 79% in 2009 to 85% by 2030 — but only 50% of people living in sub-Saharan Africa will have access to electricity. 

Market value: The energy market in the BoP is estimated to be worth US$433 billion.

The opportunity: Next to food and housing, energy is the biggest expense for low-income households. An average 9% of the overall BoP household expenditure is spent on energy. Households with an annual income of up to $500 spend an average of $148 per year on energy, equivalent to around $0.40 a day. Those earning between $1,000 and $1,500 per year spend nearly $1 a day. Taking into account the size of the BoP, this spending represent a market of significant size (source: IFC The Next 4 Billion).

New innovative solutions are required to address this opportunity and address the energy demand for energy services beyond the demand for lighting and cooking products.

We believe in the potential of business in addressing the energy challenge by realizing sustainable energy services for the BoP. The BoP Innovation Center is involved in different initiatives that introduce innovative energy services to low-income groups.