REEEP

Clean lighting symposium puts spotlight on entrepreneurship

Delhi, 28.10.2010 - REEEP International Secretariat

Some 1.6 billion people, primarily in South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa still lack access to modern energy, most particularly lighting. A symposium on promoting rural entrepreneurship for enhancing access to clean lighting, put the spotlight on ways that modern lighting can be brought into people’s lives.

The symposium's closing panel gave a variety of perspectives from private industry, development finance and NGOs.

What makes clean lighting bankable is the fact that it can replace an existing, paying market for kerosene. The poor already spend a significant portion of their income on kerosene for lighting, and many of the clean solutions are cheaper over the long term, provided durable products, the right delivery mechanisms and financing can all be provided.

Immediately starting on an upbeat note, the event which was a cooperative effort of TERI,  the MNRE and REEEP, began with an Inaugural Session that included the announcement of the Asian Development Bank’s Energy For All initiative.

The issues connected with delivery were explored in detail in two in-depth sessions. The first of these looked at rural development and off-grid lighting and was chaired by Dipal Barua, Chairman and CEO of Bright Green Energy Foundation, the Bangladesh-based organisation that promotes solar entrepreneurship among village women.  The second was chaired by Binu Parthan, REEEP’s Deputy Director General and considered emerging business opportunities in clean lighting, which included Mayank Sekhsaria of Green Light Planet, Charles Muchunko, a renewable energy consultant from Kenya, Vivek Mehra from India’s YES Bank and Islam Sharif from the Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd. of Bangladesh.

The event concluded with a panel discussion on Scaling up clean lighting options – way forward to a global solution. The participants here included Dr. Marianne Osterkorn, Director General of REEEP.