Designing Market Transformation Projects for the Base of the Pyramid : The Lighting Africa Program

Abstract

Once pushed to the periphery as an unattractive market segment, the mass of low-income consumers throughout the developing world 4 billion of them are emerging as key players in the global marketplace and climate mitigation equation. Collectively, these base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) consumers make up the largest and fastest-growing segment of the world's population, and the off-grid lighting consumers in Africa are no exception. With an estimated $10-17 billion dollar/year market opportunity, proven demand, and market-ready technology solutions designed to meet consumer need, the essential ingredients for the development of considerable commercial markets to deliver modern off-grid lighting to the 500 million African off-grid lighting consumers at the BoP have never been riper. This smart lesson illustrates some of the key lessons that the Lighting Africa Program has learned in the process of assessing the potential for and designing of a market transformation program for the acceleration of off-grid lighting markets in Africa.