Weekly Review January 15-21

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Christina

The idea that renewable energy can increasingly meet the energy requirements of emerging markets at grid-parity is a regular topic of discussion. Both the public sector and the private sectors are searching for ways to meet global energy requirements while decreasing dependence on unsustainable source of energy. Instead of the global oil markets, the usual suspects, now the radical advances in solar cell efficiency, declining costs of raw materials, and large-scale strategic initiatives from both the public and private sectors are leading the discussion.

“Polysilicon Prices to Drop in 2012, Bringing Solar PV Prices to 70 Cents a Watt” by Stephen Lacey on Think Progress
While innovative financing solutions are certainly important for incentivizing adoption of alternative energies, the key to long-term renewable energy adoption is the overall cost and affordability. Polysilicon, for example, is an essential material for solar modules. Therefore, the declining cost of this raw material will encourage the adoption of silicon-based solar technologies. GTM Research’s Brett Prior says that the silicon supply will finally outpace the demand in 2012. With the laws of economics in place, the silicon surplus will help drive the price down.

“Energy Consumption in the Developing World 2030” by Tom Fuller, Sungevity, on 3000 Quads
Fuller predicts that future global energy demand is severely underestimated, in particular, because of continued high growth in GDP and booming economic development in emerging markets. One key figure that Fuller claims is that developing countries’ energy demand could be underestimated by 57%. While this may be both good and bad, it is fair to say that consumption and demand in 2020 are not in equilibrium – it is likely that demand will outpace supply. There is a pressing need for sustainable energy solutions from both public and private institutions. Both sectors should increase their focus on alternative energies, as they will offer a more sustainable solution for rising global energy demand.

Chole Island Residents using computers powered by a SolarAid solar home system. Image Source: SolarAid

“Solar brings IT and learning power to remote island” by Anna on SolarAid Blog
Last summer, SolarAid installed a solar power system on Chole Island, a well-known eco lodge off the coast of Tanzania. Recently, using this solar energy system, the Chole Mjini Trust Fund installed an IT system in the community center. Chole Island residents can now access computers and information technology for the first time.

“Latin America Report: Critics Urge More Solar, Wind, Geothermal in Chile” on Renewable Energy World
Chile presents a large, untapped market for renewable energy. The long coastline, the volcanic activity, and the abundant sunshine close to the Equator all lend themselves as ideal resources for wind, geothermal, and solar power production. As such, the government is now facing pressure to encourage the adoption of renewable energy and decrease its dependence and vulnerability on imported supplies of oil and natural gas.

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Weekly Review November 27-December 3

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Christina

After last week’s regional focus on Africa, this week we focused our reading on social enterprise and development in Latin America.

“Latin America Report: Ready for Explosive Growth” on Renewable Energy World

Many Latin American nations are reducing their reliance on fossil fuels and by transitioning toward renewable energies like wind, solar, geothermal and biofuels. Wind energy prices are increasingly competitive, especially in Brazil, which are expanding so rapidly that wind farms may very overtake natural gas thermal plants in the next 5 years. With high hopes for solar, Renewable Energy World is launching a weekly report on Latin America. Watch out for in on Wednesdays.

“Rural Peru gets connected” by Mattia Cabitza on The Guardian Poverty Matters Blog

Revolutionizing life in Peru, where one in four people live without electricity, 130 rural communities are benefitting from the Euro-Solar Programme. The program reaches “more than 300,000 people whose communities are not connected to the electricity grid.” Each community received solar panels and the free EU kit, which allowed them to run dozens of electronics, including an antenna for satellite Internet. The investment of ~$47.6 million is also benefiting seven other Latin American nations.

“Survey shows confidence in SMEs amount banks in South America” on MicroFinance Focus

SMEs in South America will be crucial to the development of the region, according to a survey of 170 regional banks that are looking to increase their credit portfolio in the sector. This year, 89% of banks actively lend to SMEs, up 13% from 2008. This type of support and confidence in the SME sector helps foster entrepreneurship and continued growth in the region.

“Latin America poverty level lowest in 20 years, says UN” on The BBCAccording to Eclac, the UN’s regional economic body, there are 177 million people living in poverty in Latin America. That’s 31.4% of the total regional population. The good news is that level is down from 1990, when 48.4% of the population lived in poverty. Poverty and inequality are on the decline, but to maintain this, there is a need for employment in high productivity sectors. See Eclac’s report for full details: Social Panorama of Latin America 2011 (PDF).

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Poverty-Fighting Mobile Transaction Systems (Part 4): Social Capital

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Christina

This is the fourth post in our series, “Leveraging Mobile Penetration at the BoP for Poverty-Fighting Mobile Transaction Systems.” Click the links below to catch up on anything you might have missed.

Social Capital – Networking and Participation

As we introduced in the first post, the key to a successful mobile technology applications to alleviate poverty is the exchange. In the case of networking and participation, an exchange is the receiving and sending of ideas and opinions and the power to organize or participate in the community.

Mobile phones create powerful social networking opportunities. Mobile applications can offer users the opportunity to leverage their networks for referrals and create opportunities for peer lending. Social networking tools, everything from SMS to Facebook, facilitate organization and participation, as we witnessed during Egypt’s Arab Spring Revolution. Leveraging mobile ubiquity to expand on social capital reaps many benefits for users in a community where communication tools are limited.

The mobile phone with its most basic feature, SMS, promotes impact by creating an exchange. NGOs and governments around the world have used SMS texts to inform and alert populations to serious alerts. For example, FrontlineSMS and Jana (both discussed in this Weekly Review) allow businesses and NGOs alike to communicate with their target market in developing countries. FrontlineSMS prompts consumers to participate and engage through a platform that allows NGOs and businesses to send group texts, asking questions and opinions to a large mobile user base. Similarly, Jana (formerly Txteagle) collects market research data with mobile phones by allowing businesses and NGOs to distribute surveys via SMS with promotional incentives.

Tying It All Together – Mobile Ubiquity and Reducing Poverty

It is clear that mobile phones provide many benefits to users at the base of the pyramid. In the United States we have access to such benefits and resources not only through mobile phones, but by many other mediums. We can network on LinkedIn, search for jobs on Monster, read reviews of local service providers on Yelp!, take surveys to get coupons, borrow from a bank, use and build credit, and transfer money in seconds on our online banking applications. While some may argue that these seem to be simply promoting consumerism, the key point to highlight once more is the exchange. To reiterate Dr. Harish Hande’s philosophy, we must allow the poor to create their own wealth by giving them the tools to do so. With a mobile phone at the fingertips of over 70% of the world and a growing community of social innovators, we can create mobile technologies for sustainable global development.

What other ways can we leverage mobile ubiquity to create poverty-fighting technology?