About Us

Lighting Africa is a joint IFC and World Bank program that seeks to support the global lighting industry in developing affordable, clean, and efficient modern lighting and energy solutions for millions of Sub-Saharan Africans who currently live without access to the electricity grid.

Every year, African households and small businesses spend upwards of $17 billion on lighting, dominated by fuel-based sources such as kerosene, a costly an inefficient alternative. However, despite these huge expenditures – many households spend as much as 30% of their disposable income on fuel-based lighting – consumers receive little value in return. Fuel-based lighting is inefficient, provides limited and poor quality light, and exposes users to significant health and fire hazards. Exacerbating this problem, fuel-based lighting also produces Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), leads to increased indoor air pollution and associated health risks, inhibits productivity and jeopardizes human safety.

Blue: Annual Global Expenditures on Electric Lighting eqauating $185 Billion US Dollars

Orange: Annual Global Expenditures on Fuel-Based Lighting equating $35 Billion US Dollars

Fuel-Based Lighting Accounts for 17% of the Global Lighting Market, a demand of $38 billion

(source: Evan Mills, International Association of Energy Efficient Lighting and Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory)

It is the aim of Lighting Africa to leverage global expenditures on fuel-based lighting to develop, accelerate, and sustain the market for modern off-grid lighting alternatives that offer African consumers considerably more value for their money. Efficient lighting technologies such as those products containing the latest LED, florescent, human-cranking, and solar technologies make it possible for the first time in history to offer energy services to consumers that are clean, efficient and reliable, at price points that are comparable to typical expenditures for kerosene. Lighting Africa works to facilitate an industry alliance to support market development, supporting the international lighting industry as well as local entrepreneurs, businesses, CSOs, governments, and other stakeholders to drive the innovation, development and delivery of these superior lighting products and services to the African marketplace, in turn creating options and opportunities to transform lives and livelihoods.

A program entirey formulated and implemented based on stakeholder engagement and participation, Lighting Africa acts as an instrument of the industry, creating a level playing field rather than picking winners or specific technologies to endorse, supporting all who are willing to commit to market development.

Lighting Africa's consultations with hundreds of companies and other stakeholder groups have informed the development of a defined set of program of activities through which Lighting Africa seeks to mitigate specific market barriers.

Currently, the following types of services are provided by the program:

Market information. Lighting Africa is conducting research in order to share critical business intelligence with companies and organizations interested in entering the Africa off-grid lighting market. Such information includes data on consumer needs, lighting uses and preferences, current expenditures on off-grid lighting, potential distribution channels, prevailing policy and regulatory frameworks, sources of finance, and more.

Quality Assurance. In close consultation with other stakeholders, Lighting Africa is developing a multi-pronged quality assurance program aimed at helping consumers make informed purchasing decisions while also aiding manufacturers in improving product quality to best meet consumer needs and expectations.

Business linkages. Strengthening ties between the global lighting industry and local service providers to design, develop, and deliver lighting products to off-grid communities in Africa. For example, Lighting Africa facilitates business linkages through its interactive business to business (B2B) website, a social networking tool which convenes the industry around topical areas, provides them the chance to post and receive business opportunities and other exchanges, and through a number of international and domestic conferences, trade fairs and workshops.

Consumer awareness. In order to inform consumers about modern off-grid alternatives to fuel-based lighting such as kerosene lamps and empower them to make educated purchasing decisions, Lighting Africa is planning to conduct consumer awareness and information campaigns in a number of African countries.

Lighting Africa involves both international as well as country-based activities. In parallel to international activities that are designed to benefit all of Africa, e.g. the web portal, international conferences and the product quality assurance program, Lighting Africa is conducting specific on-the-ground activities in several African countries. In addition to the initial work conducted in the pilot countries- Ghana and Kenya, subsequent program activities are currently being implemented in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Zambia. Drawing from the "lessons learned" from Lighting Africa's work in the pilot phase, program activities will be refined to maximize their effectiveness, country operations will be expanded to other African countries in the coming years, and the pogram will create tools and methodologies that can be extrapolated across Africa (and potentially beyond) to foster the continued spawning of market formation over time.

Lighting Africa currently has a budget of roughly $12 million provided by a variety of partners, including:

     * Global Environment Facility (GEF)
    * Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP)*
    * Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF)
    * Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP)
    * Department for International Development (DFID)
    * Asia Sustainable & Alternative Energy Program (ASTAE)
    * Good Energies, Inc.
    * Norway
    * Luxembourg
    * Netherlands

* ESMAP is a knowledge partnership supported by the World Bank and official donors from Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the U.N. Foundation. ESMAP has also enjoyed the support of private donors, as well as in-kind support from a number of partners in the energy and development community