Enhancing the Impact of Investments in Off-grid Solar SMEs through Gender-Focused Social Performance Scorecards

This Capstone project focused on assessing the impact of clean energy transition on the livelihoods of customers in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly on women and girls. The Capstone team defined clean energy transition as switching from fossil fuel usage for cooking and heating, to installing off-grid solar equipment and using renewable energy for daily needs. Further, the Capstone team defined the impact on livelihoods as reduced exposure to burning fossil fuels in a home environment, especially energy from coal and kerosene, leading to reduced exposure to particulate matter such as PM2.5.

The importance of reducing exposure to these fossil fuels is also discussed. The Capstone team demonstrated that given the proven health hazards of using coal and kerosene as energy sources, switching to off-grid solar energy would result in important long-term health benefits. The team calculated the amount of particulate matter emissions avoided throughout the lifecycle of SIMA Fund I and recommended ways to continue delivering a positive impact through future investments in off-grid solar companies.

The research was a comparative analysis with limitations, specifically from a small sample size. Despite limitations, the team presented key insights into the benefits of adopting off-grid solar energy and provided a way to quantify the health benefits of solar energy to customers.