When investigating the drivers and goals of both financial and energy inclusion, it becomes apparent that the two are mutually reinforcing concepts, which bear a high synergy potential. Nonetheless, screening for successfully scaled-up projects based on a combination of energy access and microfinance schemes provides very limited results which remain debatable. This paper provides an overview of the concept of linking microfinance and energy access based on case studies from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Cameroon, as well as lessons learned from experiences in Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines, describing multiple approaches. It also tracks both sectors for signals of a transition process where roles and paradigms appear to be changing from both sides of the equation. From the microfinance perspective, there is a changing focus of impact investors toward environmental goals, while from the energy access side, a shift away from microfinanced solar home systems in the traditional sense to pay-as-you-go schemes, as well as both smaller portable systems and more elaborate service offers through different minigrid schemes. There is a mismatch in donor expectations and demand from the energy poor, much of which is due to the insinuated role that the microfinance support sector plays today in the field of energy access. This mismatch in both expectations and communication has in fact led to this scarcity of successfully scaled microfinanced energy programmes. The paper concludes with an estimation of future potential based on an altered perception and execution of a dynamic role of microfinance in addressing energy poverty.

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Almeida, S. and Roberts, M. (2014) ‘Power to the people: what’s driving the supply of green microfinance?’ Deakin Papers on International Business Economics 7(1) [online] <https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/dpibe/article/view/315> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Alstone, P., Gershenson, D. and Kammen, D.M. (2015) ‘Decentralized energy systems for clean electricity access’, Nature Climate Change 5: 305–14 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2512>.

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Groh, S. and Chowdhury, S. (2014) ‘Innovations in technologies and delivery models for solar rural electrification in Bangladesh’, brief summary note of the workshop side-event, ICDRET 2014, UIU, Dhaka.

Groh, S. and Taylor, H. (2014) ‘The synergy potential of financial and energy inclusion’, Financial Inclusion 2020 Blog Series [webpage], Washington, DC: Center for Financial Inclusion <http://cfi-blog.org/2013/08/28/the-synergy-potential-of-financial-and-energy-inclusion/> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Groh, S., Philipp, D., Edlefsen Lasch, B., Kirchhoff, H., Islam, D., Khan, M.R., Chowdhury, S. and Kammen, D.M. (2014) ‘The Battle of Edison and Westinghouse revisited: contrasting AC and DC micro-grids for rural electrification’, Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovating Energy Access for Remote Areas: Discovering Untapped Resources, Berkeley, CA: Microenergy Systems and Berkeley Rural Energy Group.

Groh, S., Philipp, D., Edlefsen, B. and Kirchhoff, H. (2015) ‘Swarm electrification: suggesting a paradigm shift through building up microgrids bottom-up’, in S. Groh, J. Straeten, B. Edlefsen Lasch, D. Gershenson, W. Leal Filho and D. Kammen (eds), Decentralized Solutions for Developing Economies: Addressing Energy Poverty Through Innovation, Springer Proceedings in Energy, pp. 217–31, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

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International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Bank (2014) Sustainable Energy for All 2013–2014: Global Tracking Framework [pdf], Washington, DC: World Bank <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16537> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Jacobson, A. (2015) ‘Efficiency, affordability, and quality: three drivers for growth in the off-grid solar industry’, IFC Lighting Global Presentation, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 16 March 2015.

Khan, M.R. and Brown, E.D. (2013) ‘DC nanogrids: a low cost PV based solution for livelihood enhancement for rural Bangladesh’, Proceedings of the International Conference on the Developments in Renewable Energy Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

KPMG (2015) PAYGO: Solar Distribution through Pay As You Go Business Models in East Africa [pdf], Development in Practice Impact Paper 16, Nairobi, Kenya: International Development Advisory Services <http://bennu-solar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Development-in-Practice-16-Pay-as-you-go-solar-solutions.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

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Moreno, A. and Bareisaite, A. (2015) ‘Scaling up access to electricity: pay-as-you-go plans in off-grid energy services’, Livewire 2015/34, Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

Morris, E., Winiecki, J., Chowdhary, S. and Cortiliga, K. (2007) Using Microfinance to Expand Access to Energy Services [pdf], SEEP Network <www.seepnetwork.org/using-microfinance-to-expand-access-to-energy-services--summary-of-findings-resources-598.php> [accessed 26 July 2015].

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Pachauri, S., van Ruijven, B.J., Nagai, Y., Riahi, K., van Vuuren, D.P., Brew-Hammond, A. and Nakicenovic, N. (2013) ‘Pathways to achieve universal household access to modern energy by 2030’, Environmental Research Letters 8: 1–7 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024015>.

Rahman, S.M. and Ahmad, M.M. (2013) ‘Solar home system (SHS) in rural Bangladesh: ornamentation or fact of development?’ Energy Policy 63: 348–54 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.041>.

Rao, P.S.C., Miller, J.B., Wang, Y.D. and Byrne, J.B. (2009) ‘Energy-microfinance intervention for below poverty line households in India’, Energy Policy 37(5): 1694–712 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.12.039>.

Rippey, P. (2012) ‘Microfinance and climate change: threats and opportunities’, in D. Köhn (ed.), Greening the Financial Sector: How to Mainstream Environmental Finance in Developing Countries, pp. 215–39, Berlin Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.

Sadeque, Z., Rysankova, D., Elahi, R. and Soni, R. (2014) ‘Scaling up access to electricity: the case of Bangladesh’, LiveWire, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Samad, H.A., Khandker, S.R., Asaduzzaman, M. and Yunus, M. (2013) The Benefits of Solar Home Systems: An Analysis from Bangladesh [pdf], WPS 6724, Washington, DC: World Bank <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/11/18640651/benefits-solar-home-systems-analysis-bangladesh> [accessed 15 August 2014].

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Wimmer, N. (2012) Green Energy for a Billion Poor: How Grameen Shakti Created a Winning Model for Social Business, München: MCRE Verlag UG.

Ajaz, W. and Taylor, H. (2015) ‘Demand assessment of solar electrification in off-grid rural communities in Pakistan through microfinancing of solar home systems’, in S. Groh, J. Straeten, B. Edlefsen Lasch, D. Gershenson, W. Leal Filho and D. Kammen (eds), Decentralized Solutions for Developing Economies: Addressing Energy Poverty Through Innovation, Springer Proceedings in Energy, pp. 217–31, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

Allderdice, A., Winecki, J. and Morris, E. (2007) Using Microfinance to Expand Access to Energy Services: A Desk Study of Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington, DC: The SEEP Network.

Allet, M. (2014) ‘Why do microfinance institutions go green? An exploratory study’, Journal of Business Ethics 122: 405–24 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1767-2>.

Almeida, S. and Roberts, M. (2014) ‘Power to the people: what’s driving the supply of green microfinance?’ Deakin Papers on International Business Economics 7(1) [online] <https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/dpibe/article/view/315> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Alstone, P., Gershenson, D. and Kammen, D.M. (2015) ‘Decentralized energy systems for clean electricity access’, Nature Climate Change 5: 305–14 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2512>.

Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) (2015) ‘Household biogas’ [webpage] <www.aepc.gov.np/?option=renewable&page=subsubrenewable&mid=2&sub_id=16&ssid=16&cat=Household%20Biogas> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Bajgain, S. and Shakya, I. (2005) The Nepal Biogas Support Program: A Successful Model of Public Private Partnership for Rural Household Energy Supply [pdf], Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands; SNV-Netherlands Development Organisation; Nepal: Biogas Sector Partnership <www.snvworld.org/files/publications/biogas_nepal_-_successful_model_of_public_private_partnership.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation (CITE) (2015) Experiment in Product Evaluation: The Case of Solar Lanterns in Uganda, Cambridge, MA: MIT-USAID.

Craine, S., Mills, E. and Guay, J. (2014) Clean Energy Services for All: Financing Universal Electrification [pdf], Washington, DC: Sierra Club <http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/0747_Clean_Energy_Services_Report_03_web.pdf?docID=15922> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Department for International Development (UK) (DFID) (2002) Energy for the Poor [pdf] <https://www.ecn.nl/fileadmin/ecn/units/bs/JEPP/energyforthepoor.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) (2015) Beyond Connections: Energy Access Redefined [pdf], Executive Summary, ESMAP Technical Report 008/15, Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank Group <www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Topics/Energy%20and%20Extract/Beyond_Connections_Energy_Access_Redefined_Exec_ESMAP_2015.pdf> [accessed 21 January 2015].

Groh, S. (2014) ‘The role of energy in development processes: the energy poverty penalty – case study of Arequipa (Peru)’, Energy for Sustainable Development 18: 83–99 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2013.12.002>.

Groh, S. and Chowdhury, S. (2014) ‘Innovations in technologies and delivery models for solar rural electrification in Bangladesh’, brief summary note of the workshop side-event, ICDRET 2014, UIU, Dhaka.

Groh, S. and Taylor, H. (2014) ‘The synergy potential of financial and energy inclusion’, Financial Inclusion 2020 Blog Series [webpage], Washington, DC: Center for Financial Inclusion <http://cfi-blog.org/2013/08/28/the-synergy-potential-of-financial-and-energy-inclusion/> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Groh, S., Philipp, D., Edlefsen Lasch, B., Kirchhoff, H., Islam, D., Khan, M.R., Chowdhury, S. and Kammen, D.M. (2014) ‘The Battle of Edison and Westinghouse revisited: contrasting AC and DC micro-grids for rural electrification’, Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovating Energy Access for Remote Areas: Discovering Untapped Resources, Berkeley, CA: Microenergy Systems and Berkeley Rural Energy Group.

Groh, S., Philipp, D., Edlefsen, B. and Kirchhoff, H. (2015) ‘Swarm electrification: suggesting a paradigm shift through building up microgrids bottom-up’, in S. Groh, J. Straeten, B. Edlefsen Lasch, D. Gershenson, W. Leal Filho and D. Kammen (eds), Decentralized Solutions for Developing Economies: Addressing Energy Poverty Through Innovation, Springer Proceedings in Energy, pp. 217–31, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

Hande, H. (2015) ‘Keynote speech’, Micro Perspectives for Decentralized Energy Supply (MES 2015). Bangalore, India [webpage], <https://energypedia.info/wiki/Micro_Perspectives_for_Decentralized_Energy_Supply_(MES_2015)_-_Keynote_Speech> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Huybrechts, B. and Mertens, S. (2014) ‘The relevance of the cooperative model in the field of renewable energy’, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 85(2): 193–212 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apce.12038>.

Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) (2015) ‘Solar minigrid projects’ [online] <http://idcol.org/home/solar_min> [accessed 25 March 2015].

International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Bank (2014) Sustainable Energy for All 2013–2014: Global Tracking Framework [pdf], Washington, DC: World Bank <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16537> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Jacobson, A. (2015) ‘Efficiency, affordability, and quality: three drivers for growth in the off-grid solar industry’, IFC Lighting Global Presentation, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 16 March 2015.

Khan, M.R. and Brown, E.D. (2013) ‘DC nanogrids: a low cost PV based solution for livelihood enhancement for rural Bangladesh’, Proceedings of the International Conference on the Developments in Renewable Energy Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

KPMG (2015) PAYGO: Solar Distribution through Pay As You Go Business Models in East Africa [pdf], Development in Practice Impact Paper 16, Nairobi, Kenya: International Development Advisory Services <http://bennu-solar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Development-in-Practice-16-Pay-as-you-go-solar-solutions.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Lighting Africa IFC (2013) Burkina Faso: Solar Lantern Supply Chain Study, Washington, DC: International Financial Corporation, World Bank.

Mohiuddin, S. (2005) ‘Expanding Microfinance in Promoting Renewable Energy Access in Developing Countries’, Georgetown Public Policy Review 11(1).

Moreno, A. and Bareisaite, A. (2015) ‘Scaling up access to electricity: pay-as-you-go plans in off-grid energy services’, Livewire 2015/34, Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

Morris, E., Winiecki, J., Chowdhary, S. and Cortiliga, K. (2007) Using Microfinance to Expand Access to Energy Services [pdf], SEEP Network <www.seepnetwork.org/using-microfinance-to-expand-access-to-energy-services--summary-of-findings-resources-598.php> [accessed 26 July 2015].

OECD and IEA (2011) Energy for All: Financing Access for the Poor, World Energy Outlook, 2010, IEA: Paris, France.

Pachauri, S., van Ruijven, B.J., Nagai, Y., Riahi, K., van Vuuren, D.P., Brew-Hammond, A. and Nakicenovic, N. (2013) ‘Pathways to achieve universal household access to modern energy by 2030’, Environmental Research Letters 8: 1–7 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/2/024015>.

Rahman, S.M. and Ahmad, M.M. (2013) ‘Solar home system (SHS) in rural Bangladesh: ornamentation or fact of development?’ Energy Policy 63: 348–54 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.041>.

Rao, P.S.C., Miller, J.B., Wang, Y.D. and Byrne, J.B. (2009) ‘Energy-microfinance intervention for below poverty line households in India’, Energy Policy 37(5): 1694–712 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2008.12.039>.

Rippey, P. (2012) ‘Microfinance and climate change: threats and opportunities’, in D. Köhn (ed.), Greening the Financial Sector: How to Mainstream Environmental Finance in Developing Countries, pp. 215–39, Berlin Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.

Sadeque, Z., Rysankova, D., Elahi, R. and Soni, R. (2014) ‘Scaling up access to electricity: the case of Bangladesh’, LiveWire, Washington, DC: World Bank.

Samad, H.A., Khandker, S.R., Asaduzzaman, M. and Yunus, M. (2013) The Benefits of Solar Home Systems: An Analysis from Bangladesh [pdf], WPS 6724, Washington, DC: World Bank <http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2013/11/18640651/benefits-solar-home-systems-analysis-bangladesh> [accessed 15 August 2014].

Sangani, P. (2014) ‘Impact investing won’t replace philanthropy but will push firms towards CSR: Rockefeller Foundation Chief’, The Economic Times, 24 October 2014 [online] <http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-10-24/news/55397958_1_philanthropy-social-enterprise-social-good> [accessed 25 March 2015].

Schützeichel, H. (2015) ‘The underestimated challenge of PAYG’ [online], Sun-Connect <www.sun-connect-news.org/business/details/the-underestimated-challenge-of-payg/> [accessed 26 July 2015].

United Nations (2015) ‘Sustainable development goals’ [online], United Nations Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform <https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/index.php?menu=1300> [accessed 17 January 2015].

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2009) Bringing Small-Scale Finance to the Poor for Modern Energy Services: What is the Role of Government? [pdf], New York: UNDP <www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/environment-energy/sustainable_energy/bringing_small-scalefinancetothepoorformodernenergyservices.html> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Wimmer, N. (2012) Green Energy for a Billion Poor: How Grameen Shakti Created a Winning Model for Social Business, München: MCRE Verlag UG.

Ajaz, W. and Taylor, H. (2015) ‘Demand assessment of solar electrification in off-grid rural communities in Pakistan through microfinancing of solar home systems’, in S. Groh, J. Straeten, B. Edlefsen Lasch, D. Gershenson, W. Leal Filho and D. Kammen (eds), Decentralized Solutions for Developing Economies: Addressing Energy Poverty Through Innovation, Springer Proceedings in Energy, pp. 217–31, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

Allderdice, A., Winecki, J. and Morris, E. (2007) Using Microfinance to Expand Access to Energy Services: A Desk Study of Experiences in Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington, DC: The SEEP Network.

Allet, M. (2014) ‘Why do microfinance institutions go green? An exploratory study’, Journal of Business Ethics 122: 405–24 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1767-2>.

Almeida, S. and Roberts, M. (2014) ‘Power to the people: what’s driving the supply of green microfinance?’ Deakin Papers on International Business Economics 7(1) [online] <https://ojs.deakin.edu.au/index.php/dpibe/article/view/315> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Alstone, P., Gershenson, D. and Kammen, D.M. (2015) ‘Decentralized energy systems for clean electricity access’, Nature Climate Change 5: 305–14 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2512>.

Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) (2015) ‘Household biogas’ [webpage] <www.aepc.gov.np/?option=renewable&page=subsubrenewable&mid=2&sub_id=16&ssid=16&cat=Household%20Biogas> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Bajgain, S. and Shakya, I. (2005) The Nepal Biogas Support Program: A Successful Model of Public Private Partnership for Rural Household Energy Supply [pdf], Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands; SNV-Netherlands Development Organisation; Nepal: Biogas Sector Partnership <www.snvworld.org/files/publications/biogas_nepal_-_successful_model_of_public_private_partnership.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation (CITE) (2015) Experiment in Product Evaluation: The Case of Solar Lanterns in Uganda, Cambridge, MA: MIT-USAID.

Craine, S., Mills, E. and Guay, J. (2014) Clean Energy Services for All: Financing Universal Electrification [pdf], Washington, DC: Sierra Club <http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/0747_Clean_Energy_Services_Report_03_web.pdf?docID=15922> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Department for International Development (UK) (DFID) (2002) Energy for the Poor [pdf] <https://www.ecn.nl/fileadmin/ecn/units/bs/JEPP/energyforthepoor.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) (2015) Beyond Connections: Energy Access Redefined [pdf], Executive Summary, ESMAP Technical Report 008/15, Washington, DC: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank Group <www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Topics/Energy%20and%20Extract/Beyond_Connections_Energy_Access_Redefined_Exec_ESMAP_2015.pdf> [accessed 21 January 2015].

Groh, S. (2014) ‘The role of energy in development processes: the energy poverty penalty – case study of Arequipa (Peru)’, Energy for Sustainable Development 18: 83–99 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2013.12.002>.

Groh, S. and Chowdhury, S. (2014) ‘Innovations in technologies and delivery models for solar rural electrification in Bangladesh’, brief summary note of the workshop side-event, ICDRET 2014, UIU, Dhaka.

Groh, S. and Taylor, H. (2014) ‘The synergy potential of financial and energy inclusion’, Financial Inclusion 2020 Blog Series [webpage], Washington, DC: Center for Financial Inclusion <http://cfi-blog.org/2013/08/28/the-synergy-potential-of-financial-and-energy-inclusion/> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Groh, S., Philipp, D., Edlefsen Lasch, B., Kirchhoff, H., Islam, D., Khan, M.R., Chowdhury, S. and Kammen, D.M. (2014) ‘The Battle of Edison and Westinghouse revisited: contrasting AC and DC micro-grids for rural electrification’, Proceedings of the International Conference on Innovating Energy Access for Remote Areas: Discovering Untapped Resources, Berkeley, CA: Microenergy Systems and Berkeley Rural Energy Group.

Groh, S., Philipp, D., Edlefsen, B. and Kirchhoff, H. (2015) ‘Swarm electrification: suggesting a paradigm shift through building up microgrids bottom-up’, in S. Groh, J. Straeten, B. Edlefsen Lasch, D. Gershenson, W. Leal Filho and D. Kammen (eds), Decentralized Solutions for Developing Economies: Addressing Energy Poverty Through Innovation, Springer Proceedings in Energy, pp. 217–31, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International.

Hande, H. (2015) ‘Keynote speech’, Micro Perspectives for Decentralized Energy Supply (MES 2015). Bangalore, India [webpage], <https://energypedia.info/wiki/Micro_Perspectives_for_Decentralized_Energy_Supply_(MES_2015)_-_Keynote_Speech> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Huybrechts, B. and Mertens, S. (2014) ‘The relevance of the cooperative model in the field of renewable energy’, Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics 85(2): 193–212 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/apce.12038>.

Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (IDCOL) (2015) ‘Solar minigrid projects’ [online] <http://idcol.org/home/solar_min> [accessed 25 March 2015].

International Energy Agency (IEA) and World Bank (2014) Sustainable Energy for All 2013–2014: Global Tracking Framework [pdf], Washington, DC: World Bank <https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16537> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Jacobson, A. (2015) ‘Efficiency, affordability, and quality: three drivers for growth in the off-grid solar industry’, IFC Lighting Global Presentation, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 16 March 2015.

Khan, M.R. and Brown, E.D. (2013) ‘DC nanogrids: a low cost PV based solution for livelihood enhancement for rural Bangladesh’, Proceedings of the International Conference on the Developments in Renewable Energy Technology, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

KPMG (2015) PAYGO: Solar Distribution through Pay As You Go Business Models in East Africa [pdf], Development in Practice Impact Paper 16, Nairobi, Kenya: International Development Advisory Services <http://bennu-solar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Development-in-Practice-16-Pay-as-you-go-solar-solutions.pdf> [accessed 26 July 2015].

Lighting Africa IFC (2013) Burkina Faso: Solar Lantern Supply Chain Study, Washington, DC: International Financial Corporation, World Bank.

Mohiuddin, S. (2005) ‘Expanding Microfinance in Promoting Renewable Energy Access in Developing Countries’, Georgetown Public Policy Review 11(1).

Moreno, A. and Bareisaite, A. (2015) ‘Scaling up access to electricity: pay-as-you-go plans in off-grid energy services’, Livewire 2015/34, Washington, DC: World Bank Group.

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