Renewable Energy Investments: Micro-Finance Support for Small Businesses and Micro Enterprises in Pakistan

Off-grid renewable energy (RE) solutions can be an environmentally friendly, easy, and more reliable source of energy. Yet, even with access to finance under favorable conditions, few micro, small, and medium enterprises might eventually adopt the new technologies. Several factors may hinder this process. We evaluate the impact of a pilot project providing technical assistance, loans, and subsidies to support the adoption of RE solutions in Pakistan. The program shall help small entrepreneurs, predominantly women, generate income and eventually reduce overall emissions. The evaluation focuses on measuring the impact of pilot mobilization approaches and financial incentives on the uptake of technological innovations. For this, we work with a local microfinance institute and their branches as well as RE vendors. The ultimate purpose is to inform the implementers about success factors leading to higher uptake of the loans and satisfaction with RE solutions and to allow for early identification of barriers to a successful scale-up.