Powering rural Cambodia with solar energy

Powering rural Cambodia with solar energy

The changing global climate is expected to intensify the challenges that
people in the developing world face on a daily basis, in particular among
the communities whose livelihoods are dependent upon natural resources. In
Cambodia, where roughly 80 per cent of the population is living in remote
rural areas, agriculture, fisheries, or forestry drive economic growth and
industry.

Though the Cambodian people have a tradition of adaptation to the remarkable
seasonal variation in water and related resources, their capacity to adapt
to unusual environmental changes is limited by available opportunity and
economic mobility. Climate change is likely to pose remarkable additional
challenges to people's livelihoods in the future.

NRG Solutions' founder, Daniel Pacheco, believes that cleaner, locally
available energy sources are critical to climate change adaption and
sustainable development. Not only can reliable access to power enhance
livelihoods, but it can also abate catastrophic climate changes that would
disproportionately affect the Cambodian people.

Soon after coming to Cambodia in 2009, Daniel saw the opportunity to create
an impact for a significant portion of the population by providing access to
electricity with solar electricity technology. With the help of the EME
Incubator, NRG investigated financial models to help establish ourselves as
a for-profit business. This relabeling allowed us to work hand in hand with
non-profit and for-profit businesses alike, expanding our available
opportunities and ultimate impact.

I came to NRG as a research fellow with the Watson Foundation, drawn to the
company's dedication to local capacity building and superior customer
service. NRG's story and business philosophy appealed to me as an
environment in which I could learn more about how a for-profit business can
successfully engage with and serve the local population, beyond simply
providing a product. That change forces you to truly understand the past,
present, and future of your customers and provide more appropriate solutions
that truly have a significant impact over the short and long term. Learning
the best practices to achieve this is the motivation of my research. My work
with NRG in designing training tools and how to support the local sales
staff has provided critical insights into these areas.

Early in the company's lifetime, we partnered with NGOs and local
microfinance institutions to distribute and finance solar products. These
relationships allowed us to create a national distribution channel that
enabled the products to reach last-mile communities and provided support for
families to finance the solar systems. Utilizing our distribution network,
we began to help entrepreneurs to conduct the sales and service side of
their work. By engaging local people in the model, not only does NRG create
jobs and give people new skills, but also expands our reach deeper into
remote areas where solar can have the greatest impact.

This effort led to the founding of a "Solar Shop" in Kampong Thom province,
from which we were better able to manage distribution efforts and provide
better training and support for local entrepreneurs. This office serves as
the management hub and has become the retail side of NRG, now called Kruosar
Solar ("Family Solar" in Khmer). In my work with NRG, I have focused on
designing tools to support the sales and technical staff. The NRG team works
hard to support staff with confidence building activities and practical
training, allowing for improved customer communication and support.
Observing this has solidified the fact that empowering staff and building
trust in the local communities is what allows technology to be successful
and reach more people.

Our work has benefited roughly 2,000 customers to date by eliminating the
harmful and time consuming methods of energy use that were necessary before
the introduction of solar technology. People living in remote rural areas
now have more time as they don't have to take a car-battery to charging
stations, which is time consuming and costly. End-users, especially women
and children, enjoy improved health due to reduced exposure to the toxic
fumes given off by burning kerosene. Families are also able to save more,
given that the total cost of solar ownership is less than the dirty
alternatives. The benefits extend beyond cost, health, and time given the
opportunity and financial mobility that are made available

I have enjoyed learning of the ways in which NRG is committed to its
continual growth and working toward improving the lives of the Cambodian
people. NRG is continuing to expand its impact and ability to remove access
barriers to the benefits that solar energy can bring. We have taken on
different initiatives to test new business and distributions models, most
notably and recently realizing the "Solar Village" concept through the
sustainable solarization of an entire village. In partnership with other
local actors, we electrified 81 households and other public infrastructure
in the 112 household village. In the project, we piloted the introduction of
Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) financing technology which will provide the first
feedback on the advantages and disadvantages of mobile payment technologies
in Cambodia.

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Link to Original Article:
https://www.virgin.com/virgin-unite/powering-rural-cambodia-solar-energy

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com