"As part of the series of regional engagements in South Asia, Smart Villages is organising a workshop on off-grid rural energy provision in Bangladesh. The country has the fastest growing programme in the world with an estimated 70,000 solar home systems (SHS) installed per day. More than 3 million SHS have been installed in off-grid rural areas in the country bringing electricity to an estimated 13 million people. Dr John Holmes, Smart Village Initiative The aim of the workshop is to gain insights from the experience of a wide variety of stakeholders in Bangladesh who are involved in rural off-grid energy provision in the country. This workshop will offer a number of potential lessons to other countries within the region. The workshop provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the opportunities presented by expansion of solar home systems (SHS) and mini-grids to off-grid rural communities and the challenges faced in this expansion. During this workshop we will also investigate the potential impact of energy access on rural livelihoods in the country. The workshop is being jointly organised by Smart Villages and Practical Action."