For many of us in the wired world, going off the grid is a choice, perhaps even a luxury. Reading by candlelight is romantic and a "real vacation" is defined less by how far we have traveled and more by whether or not we are unplugged. We take global connectivity for granted and seek to escape it when we need to relax.
"Going off-grid", in many ways, has become the great American getaway, but when it comes to global access, we are still the fortunate few. In Africa, the grid is growing more slowly than the population. As Tina Rosenberg points out today on the New York Times Opinionator, "around the world, billions of people are off-grid by necessity: they live without wired electricity, piped gas and water, or sewers."
Tech innovators focus may not be working to solve the problems of the rural poor, but they are serving their needs by meeting our desires. The more efficient laptop batteries which afford us the luxury of working poolside mean reliable, affordable energy for the rural poor.
We've seen the enormous impact of off-grid communication. Mobile phones haven't just connected families and friends, they've provided financial solutions and even helped mitigate the spread of AIDS. Imagine what off-grid power can do.
Power brings more than consumption. It brings safety: people can walk at night, women no longer have to range so far to gather wood for cooking. It brings education: children can study after dark. It brings prosperity: stores can stay open longer. Producers can get the tools they need to produce more — a milk-chiller for dairy farmers, pumps to irrigate crops.
While there are many NGOs facilitating the spread of off-grid power in the developing world, for-profit ventures have had less success. This isn't for lack of entrepreneurs, effort, or even the lack of viable business models. As people on the ground seek investors, they face challenges because "bankers are quite conservative and they are not comfortable in these markets." Given political corruption and the general lack of stable institutions in most impoverished regions, the hesitation of investors and lenders is understandable.
Rosenberg outlines multiple ways governments. multilateral institutions, and public-private partnerships can help attract investors, and you can read the full article here. If you're interested in this growing sector, FreeMovement is fortunate to have friends doing good work in this realm. Among them are the folks at SolarAid, an international charity combating poverty and climate change.
SolarAid understands the importance of selling, rather than giving away, solar lights. To attract attention to their products, their solar roller hosts movie nights in rural communities, demonstrating the benefits of solar power. After the presentation, they pitch their product: affordable, portable solar lights. As Solar author and SolarAid supporter Ian McEwan says, getting light into homes is "an extraordinary leap for civilization," transforming humankind's fate.