The potentials of innovative solar initiatives - Combating energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa while considering ethical and sustainability challenges

Many regions in Sub-Saharan Africa face more challenges than ever due to the increasing shortage and demand for electricity. However, since the past decade, small-scale renewable energy options are on the rise which could be the solution to combat energy poverty in even the most rural regions. The biggest benefits are democratized access to electricity, the option for customers to build a credit history, and the possibility to get financial support (Kazeem, 2020). However, because of missing knowledge about the socioeconomic and political environment challenges arise that hinder the uptake of these energy innovations (Chaurey et al., 2012). Therefore, the following research question was investigated, how can innovative digital and renewable energy initiatives reduce energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa while considering the ethical and sustainability tensions and tradeoffs? To answer the research project a qualitative content analysis was conducted, exploring the following three angles: stakeholder dynamics, consumer communication, opportunities, and challenges, and lastly, solar business models and technology. For this reason, a content analysis was carried out analyzing 18 chosen documents of the following six different stakeholders, governments and UN systems, grid operators and social entrepreneurs, ICT companies, non-profit organizations and ThinkTanks, press and newspapers, and lastly aid agencies and foundations. The findings show that there is a great potential and several benefits these smallscale renewable energy options offer, like for example an affordable, safe, and reliable energy access, mentorship, and training programs, the option to develop a credit history for low-income users, and new partnership possibilities that allow stakeholders to benefit from each other’s knowledge. However, to allow these advantages to create a long-term development that considers ethical and sustainable aspects like equal energy rights and fair distribution, and procedural justice, certain challenges need to be worked on. Firstly, the findings showed that there is a need to revise the concept of “universal electricity access” since some stakeholders actually exclude part of the population with this concept definition. Furthermore, there is a need for strengthening and deepening partnerships and making information about the market more easily available. Additionally, key players need to address the missing digital literary of consumers as well as raising awareness about which energy technologies are available and affordable for them. Lastly, to ensure consumer trust and transparency, data practices of platforms need to be communicated clearly to users, and policymakers need to establish privacy policies to protect consumers.