CLASP, Nithio launch $6.5m financing facility to catalyse uptake of solar water pumps, electric cookers, other appliances
Oredola Adeola
CLASP and Nithio have launched USD $6.5 million financing facility to catalyze the adoption and reduce the cost of purchasing Productive Use Appliances(PUA) including solar water pumps, electric cookers, refrigerators, fans, mills, and walk-in cold rooms, in Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Uganda based on growth potential and market maturity.
This was obtained by EnergyDay through a statement released by Dennis Migono, Communications Associate on the Clean Energy Access team, supporting communications for CLASP’s Efficiency for Access/LEIA and Global LEAP programs.
an international nonprofit organization with a mission to serve as the primary resource and voice for appliance, lighting and equipment energy labelling systems. while Nithio Holdings a Washington, DC-based energy finance company focused on the off-grid sector in Africa.
CLASP and Nithio identified the six appliance technologies based on their relative maturity and potential to drive development impact
The facility according to the statement from the two organisations will improve appliance affordability for consumers and companies. It is said to be supported in part by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP).
The statement said, “Access to productive use appliances can deliver significant economic, health, education, and quality of life benefits for an estimated 60 million households worldwide and put under-electrified parts of the world on a low carbon pathway to electrification. Yet, affordability remains a major barrier to access and scale.
Jeff Stottlemyer, Director at CLASP said, “This facility is designed to catalyze private investment in productive use appliance markets at scale, making those appliances more affordable and accessible.”
Chianda Njogu, Senior Associate at the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) said, “By making productive use appliances affordable and accessible, the facility can transform lives by enhancing income generated by smallholder farmers and micro-enterprises, creating new green energy enabled jobs, and improving the sustainability of renewable energy infrastructure projects through increased demand for electricity.”
Kate Steel, Chief Executive Officer at Nithio said, “Consumer financing is crucial to long-term, sustainable growth in the productive use market. GEAPP’s support will enable Nithio to leverage our unique, data-driven approach to make consumer financing accessible for more companies and, ultimately, make it easier for their customers to afford these life-changing technologies.”
EnergyDay further gathered through the statement that the facility will offer procurement subsidies, capacity building grants, consumer financing, and advisory support focused on credit systems development for productive use appliance distributors.
The financing facility is expected to lower appliance costs for end-users by discounting the price of bulk solar appliance procurements and providing financing for distributors to enable them to sell their products on credit.
