This document summarizes the initiatives, achievements, and challenges of Global Energy Basel, an NGO focused on increasing access to clean energy in developing countries. Some of their key programs include providing technical assistance and financing to small- and medium-sized clean energy enterprises, developing energy access programs in Africa and Latin America, and launching an impact investment fund for clean energy projects in those regions. Global Energy Basel has supported over 900 businesses and provided energy access to 1.5 million people, while avoiding 200,000 tons of carbon emissions. Their goal is to support businesses serving 14-15-16 million people by 2016. Remaining challenges include biomass fuel availability, access to risk capital, distribution models in rural areas, and reaching those at the

1. Global Energy Basel
Impact Investing: Putting Money to Work in Sustainability

2. Background
• Organisation
London-based NGO with 50 staff based primarily in Africa and Latin America
• Mission
Increased access to clean energy in developing countries
• Approach
Enterprise development for SMEs and project developers through provision of
technical assistance and access to finance
• Themes
Solar lighting, small hydro, wind, waste-to energy, biogas, biomass, clean cooking
(cook-stoves and briquettes), rural electrification and mini-grids
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3. Current Initiatives
• Energy SME Programme US$30m from Russian Gov’t through WB
– TA and subsidies for SMEs and developers in 5 African countries; projects in solar,
small hydro, productive use (e.g. dairies, agri) with focus on rural electrification
• Developing Energy Enterprises Programme $5m from EU / Dutch Gov’t
– Capacity building for 800 micro-enterprises in cook-stoves, briquettes, and solar
products; expect to outperform target of improving access for 1.8m people at €2/person
• Business plan competitions / grant facilities
– LAC IDEAS Energy Innovation Competition (IDB, DfID, Dutch Gov’t) – TA / Grants
– Access to Clean Energy Challenge (BiD Network, Barclays) – TA / Grants
– Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund REACT Competition (DfID / DANIDA) – TA
– Ashden Awards (Ashden Trust) – Judging and support
• Access to finance
– GVEP Loan Guarantee Fund – partial loan guarantees of $5-20k to increase availability
of credit among small energy enterprises
– Seed equity investments – $20-30k
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4. New Initiatives
• Prometheus Fund
– Clean energy-focused impact investment fund in partnership with AlphaMundi
– LAC/SSA; across technologies; debt and equity; €250k – 3m investment size
– GVEP as technical advisor provides pipeline, investee TA, impact measurement
– Fundraising, targeting first close in Q3 2012 at €25m; €50m final close in 2013
• Caribbean IDEAS Energy Innovation Competition
– $2.2m programme funded by DfID; second round of 2009 IDEAS Competition
– Supports innovative energy projects in Caribbean across renewable technologies
– Launches in Q1 2012
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5. Achievements and Challenges
• $10m mobilized since 2008 to support businesses, and increasingly to
develop innovative solutions for challenges faced by energy enterprises
– 900 businesses supported
– 1.5m people benefiting from the growth of these businesses
– 200,000 t/CO2 avoided
• Challenges
– Availability of biomass fuel for heat / cooking in remote areas
– Access to capital (risk capital for development costs of small and/or off-grid projects and
working capital for growth of early stage SMEs)
– Consumer finance mechanisms
– Scalable distribution models, particularly for penetration into rural communities
– Product awareness; quality concerns prevent adoption
• GVEP Goal: 14 – 15 – 16
– Generate $14m of annual revenue to support businesses which provide access to
energy to 15 million people by 2016
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6. By 2020…
• Higher level of awareness of failure to mitigate climate change
– Will we be trying harder on renewables, or will we have given up?
• Decreased barriers for private sector capital (equity and lenders)
– Further along the experience curve, lower transaction costs, better information, deeper
market and more monetization opportunities
– Continued support from public sector (e.g. credit enhancements, FiTs, tax incentives)
• Consumers will have more money and better information
– Will no longer settle for kerosene, will differentiate between good and bad substitutes
– Consumer transaction costs also decreased, product / service markets more liquid
• Refined distribution and consumer finance models
– Leveraging success of mobile telecom sector
– Technology will permit innovative PAYG models (e.g. scratch-cards, mobile recharge)
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7. By 2020…
• Technological advancement and economies of scale will have reduced
end-user prices
– Already significantly lower prices than several years ago, even without companies
having achieved scale and only a fraction of the market penetration that is possible
• More development of mini-grids where grid extension is not feasible
– Funding mechanisms / PPP drive private capital to distributed generation projects
– Higher cost of diesel continues to improve relative economics
• Overall challenge for BoP provision remains
– Those at the very bottom of the pyramid remain most difficult to reach with private
capital and private sector commercial activity; private sector interventions drift up the
food chain
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