Appliance Financing 3.0 Innovation Insight: preliminary findings on grain mills and fridges

The Lab expects that offering customers income-generating machines on credit will increase electricity consumption because they:

• Are high-powered appliances and are typically used for long periods of time; and 
• Help customers grow their incomes to afford more power

Almost 80% of energy consumption on mini-grids comes from the top 20% of customers.

The top 20% of customers are mostly businesses. They consume energy to drive their business and generate income.

Supplying income-generating machines to those top 20% of customers will have an outsized impact as they account for 76% of the consumption.

Earlier trials of appliance financing showed that income generating machines have the greatest impact on the business model. However, they must be customized for off-grid use.

Data from Appliance Financing 2.0 showed that grain millers can consume up to 50x more energy than the median customer.

Fridges are in high demand in rural areas.  Developers sold 91% of their stock because most people do not have alternatives for keeping food and drinks cool.

Read the Appliance Financing 3.0 Innovation Insight