sun-connect

There are many different types of investment vehicles for social impact, and yet there aren’t always appropriate structures for investment across the risk/return spectrum. These barriers are particularly high for businesses started by women or non-Western founders.

It is an investment fund that will be used to finance small renewable energy projects in Africa, ranging from 1 to 10 MW.

Schneider Electric is also calling on other companies to reduce emissions, offering support through products and services to help businesses streamline and find efficiencies within their own operations.

The world’s largest furniture company is determined to go off-grid, and it’s developing an affordable solar energy program to convince you to do the same.

Two-thirds of the global increase in demand for energy will come from Southeast Asia as it modernises, and experts say more than half of this will be met with renewable energy.

Ultimately, there’s the risk developing countries will just become providers of raw data, while having to pay for the digital intelligence generated using their data.

It’s been 10 years since the G20 committed to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Still, across the globe, these subsidies remain high, with spending estimated at US$526 billion in 2018.

Under the initiative, the distributed networks would help connect homes, businesses and schools to small-scale solar power projects to deliver cheap, sustainable electricity that can help power local economic growth.

Development agencies and impact investors are at risk of engaging in magical thinking.

Corporate-level investments into off-grid renewables companies have grown exponentially in recent years, exceeding $2 billion globally on a cumulative basis through the first half of 2019, according to the latest WoodMac data. Africa, and particularly East Africa, is by far the largest destination for off-grid investment to date.