9 Transitioning to a Low-Carbon Economy and Renewable Energy …
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rural areas will need a far more reach by involving more stakeholders
and similarly designing market activation campaigns that are localized
and communicative of a high level of trust. Supa sigiri has additionally
latched on to the tech-savvy urban audience by selling products through
Jumia, one of Uganda’s largest e-commerce platform (Jumia 2020).
9.3.2 Affordable Products
Small-scale renewable energy products are a proven and feasible alternative for firewood. The type of renewable energy product that aims
to increase uptake in the last mile should have certain considerations. Product success ensures market-fit for the last mile with three
major considerations; whether the product is affordable, of good quality
and after-sales services (Pradhan 2019). By ensuring a good after-sales
arrangement, end-users can be confident that there is the ready availability of repair or servicing. Affordability should be key, especially
because the income of residents in rural Uganda is very low.
9.3.3 Design of the Product
Beyond that, the weight and mobility of the product should be easy.
Looking at the social, economic livelihoods of rural residents, a major
source of income is agriculture which necessitates a lot of farm work
that subsequently involves physical movement. A solar lamp that is light
to carry goes a long way in easing this process, especially for farmers
walking back home at night (World Bank 2019). Households in rural
Uganda commonly cook food from outdoors and need a light source
when cooking at night. It should not be a herculean task to carry a solar
lamp around from the outside to the indoors where it is also needed. A
heavy or immovable solar lantern would sit in one place, thus defeating
the purpose it could have had in providing light outdoors or within other
rooms of the household.
Longevity also plays a key role in ascertaining community acceptance
of a new product in rural Uganda. It is not feasible for people to continuously purchase good quality but high priced RE technologies. A longer
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rural areas will need a far more reach by involving more stakeholders
and similarly designing market activation campaigns that are localized
and communicative of a high level of trust. Supa sigiri has additionally
latched on to the tech-savvy urban audience by selling products through
Jumia, one of Uganda’s largest e-commerce platform (Jumia 2020).
9.3.2 Affordable Products
Small-scale renewable energy products are a proven and feasible alternative for firewood. The type of renewable energy product that aims
to increase uptake in the last mile should have certain considerations. Product success ensures market-fit for the last mile with three
major considerations; whether the product is affordable, of good quality
and after-sales services (Pradhan 2019). By ensuring a good after-sales
arrangement, end-users can be confident that there is the ready availability of repair or servicing. Affordability should be key, especially
because the income of residents in rural Uganda is very low.
9.3.3 Design of the Product
Beyond that, the weight and mobility of the product should be easy.
Looking at the social, economic livelihoods of rural residents, a major
source of income is agriculture which necessitates a lot of farm work
that subsequently involves physical movement. A solar lamp that is light
to carry goes a long way in easing this process, especially for farmers
walking back home at night (World Bank 2019). Households in rural
Uganda commonly cook food from outdoors and need a light source
when cooking at night. It should not be a herculean task to carry a solar
lamp around from the outside to the indoors where it is also needed. A
heavy or immovable solar lantern would sit in one place, thus defeating
the purpose it could have had in providing light outdoors or within other
rooms of the household.
Longevity also plays a key role in ascertaining community acceptance
of a new product in rural Uganda. It is not feasible for people to continuously purchase good quality but high priced RE technologies. A longer