Grameen Shakti and ME SOLshare built a platform on which household solar system users can trade solar power with non-users, which enables villagers to become entrepreneurs.
In recognition of this novel project to allow villagers more access to solar power and entrepreneurship the UN-linked fund awarded $1 million to these Bangladeshi companies.
The project’s bottom-up mini grids have transformed household solar system into a way to generate profits, a model that can be applied to areas without a power grid throughout Bangladesh and the rest of the world.
It is estimated that they can establish a minimum of 100 smart grids with the grant money, benefiting at least 15,000 people, and its impact will be greater, since it is likely to inspire more such initiatives.
The UN-DESA Energy Grant is a capacity building initiative launched and managed by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) in collaboration with the China Energy Fund Committee, a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organisation.
