Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Ignite Power is connecting last-mile communities across Sub Saharan Africa to clean, sustainable, and affordable solar home systems. The company’s main goal is to alleviate extreme poverty in bottom-of-the-pyramid societies through solar power, technology, and inclusive financing schemes. Ignite Rwanda is an ongoing project that is focusing on underserved communities in the country, providing them with solar-based life-enabling solutions. The project jas already connected more than 1 million people in the country, and is currently the leading supplier of solar solutions for Ubdehe 1 communities in Rwanda, paving the path for a more inclusive, sustainable future.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

Ignite’s operations are based on the sustainability of solar power. We finance and distribute solar solutions that leapfrog the need for national grids, hence reducing GHG emissions with every added customer. As our Rwanda project is already servicing over a million people, and with millions more to be connected in the next 5 years, emissions are reduced at an exponential pace. The underlying impact of the use of solar panels for electricity is the added products that rely on that power. Ignite’s customers use LED bulbs to light their homes, instead of polluting kerosene lamps, clean stoves instead of an open fire for cooking, solar irrigation systems instead of a hazardous diesel generator. All these and more are the real impact makers, as solar power enables a much healthier reality for individuals, and a greener reality for all. As we look for added ways to reduce global emissions, and further impact our end-customers, our offerings grow, and new sustainable products are offered, increasing the potential reduction of emissions with every added offering and sector we enter.

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Ignite emphasizes gender equality throughout our operations. First of all, over 40% of our local employees (3500+ agents) are women, and we strive to reach at least 50% by the end of 2021. In regards to our services, electricity and clean cooking solutions play a vital role in empowering women in developing countries, as seen in research and as shared with us by our female customers. As women and girls are exclusively responsible for all the house chores including procuring wood and coal for lighting and warming the house, and for cooking, our products provide them with a lot of time that is spared by not having to do these chores. The added time is invested in education, and in establishing new businesses.
Ignite’s operations are aimed at climate-vulnerable communities exclusively, as the population of Africa might only be responsible for 3% of global energy use, but will be hit the hardest from climate change, as degrees across the continent are expected to go up more than twice as high as in other parts of the globe. Our solar solutions are extensive and reach far beyond energy, as we provide irrigation systems that support food security and higher income, clean cooking solutions that provide a healthier environment inside the home, and healthcare equipment and solutions that empower rural clinics and patients. Our project aims to touch all the daily needs of our target communities and empower them through sustainable, clean solar energy.

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