In a customer satisfaction survey of end users of BGFA-financed companies, 96% of those living in rural Liberia, Uganda and Zambia said their lives had improved as a result of access to electricity through the off-grid appliances provided by the companies.
An independent assessment was conducted on the impact of BGFA-financed companies providing electricity access to rural users in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study concludes that through the results-based financing provided to the companies by BGFA, the quality of life for end users with access to off-grid electricity appliances has significantly increased.
The study was commissioned by Nefco in 2024 and carried out during September-November 2024 by 60 Decibels, a consultancy firm focusing on energy access impact measurements. The results were compiled during the first part of 2025.
The main aim of the study was to better understand the socio-economic profiles of rural and peri-urban households in Sub-Saharan Africa and assess the impacts of BGFA activities on end users’ quality of life.
“BGFA is currently conducting a mid-term evaluation to assess programme progress. To initiate this process, we have chosen to focus on what matters most: understanding customer satisfaction among end users and identifying any changes in their quality of life. After all, our core mission is to expand energy access to underserved populations across Sub-Saharan Africa. This initial study, conducted by 60 Decibels, provides valuable insights that inform the broader evaluation. The mid-term review is ongoing and includes additional analytical components to ensure a comprehensive understanding of programme impact,” comments Petra Mikkolainen, Senior Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Manager at Nefco.
Results from the study
The study shows that four out of five customers are accessing a new kind of energy service for the first time and 94% said that it fully meets their needs. In total, 96% said that their life had improved, with 67% saying that their life had improved significantly. Only 1% of the end users said that they had seen their quality of life diminish, due to the financial burden and inconsistent power supply.
Overall, 62% reported that their weekly energy spending had decreased and 36% said that their spending had significantly decreased. “The improvement that I have seen is that I’m spending less money than before, when I used to buy candles, other lighting sources and batteries” – Male, 64 years. Of those who use their appliance for income generation, 47% reported that their income had “very much increased”.
Additionally, 94% of the respondents stated that their safety and the security of assets in their homes or businesses had improved. Regarding future preparedness for potential climate shocks, over half of customers (53% of the respondents) said they felt more prepared thanks to their new off-grid energy appliance and support from the BGFA portfolio company, with 27% saying they felt much more prepared. Reasons for this included improved self-sufficiency, income generation and business continuity, safety and security. Those who did not feel more prepared mentioned financial constraints as one of the main reasons. This demonstrates the role energy access can play in resilience for climate-vulnerable communities.
Most customers (87%) of the seven chosen BGFA companies use their solar system for domestic purposes, while only 3% use it exclusively for business purposes and 10% for both business and domestic purposes.
Productive use of energy, however, remains a largely untapped opportunity, with only 16% of surveyed customers stating that they use their energy services for income-generating activities. “Unlocking this could translate perceived resilience into real economic security,” concluded the 60 Decibels team. The research team also highlights that “BGFA could explore further which technologies and business models are most likely to support climate resilience for customers, ensuring that energy access not only powers homes but also sustains livelihoods in the faces of climate risks.”
Only the customer challenge rate leaves room for improvement. BGFA portfolio companies are below the Global Benchmark with regard to this parameter, indicating that further support is needed for them to thrive in a sustainable manner. The study concludes that two out of five customers have experienced challenges using their energy service system. Issues often relate to technical faults – the most common issues reported by clients included product malfunctions, battery-related issues and repair delays, poor customer service and payment problems.
Overall, based on the outcome of the 60 Decibels survey of the seven chosen BGFA portfolio companies, it can be concluded that BGFA companies are performing well, above or on par with the Global Benchmark, and able to address energy access constraints across Sub-Saharan Africa, generating a host of co-benefits to underserved populations.
By the end of 2024, the BGFA programme had impacted a total of 3.15 million lives and benefitted almost 5,000 African businesses across five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. In total, 8.7 million people are expected to receive access to clean energy solutions once projects are implemented in rural areas of Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Uganda and Zambia.
Methodology of the 60 Decibels survey
The survey consisted of three main components:
- Interviews with end users – Over 5,000 telephone interviews were carried out with customers of the chosen BGFA portfolio companies. Seven BGFA portfolio companies from Liberia, Uganda and Zambia – the three countries with the most energy saving credits sales under BGFA to date – were included in the survey, representing over 80% of the ESSs achieved by BGFA at the time of the survey.
- BGFA Portfolio insights – The second component of the study involved compiling responses from ten companies across all six BGFA partner countries that are part of the BGFA portfolio and were also surveyed under other programmes between 2022 and 2024. These additional surveys focused specifically on non-BGFA-funded activities, even though they involved the same companies. This approach enabled benchmarking BGFA results against a comparable dataset, offering deeper insights into the types of end users BGFA projects are reaching and how programme outcomes compare with similar activities carried out by the same companies.
- Global benchmarking of BGFA results – The third component involved comparing the survey results of the seven chosen BGFA projects and those of the additional ten surveys against the 60dB Energy Global Benchmark. Some indicators were also compared to the 60dB Energy Africa Benchmark. This analysis allows conclusions to be drawn on (1) how well BGFA portfolio companies perform overall and (2) BGFA’s ability to support energy service providers to deliver results and impacts based on the seven chosen BGFA companies.
For further information about the 60 Decibels customer satisfaction survey:
Visit beyondthegrid.africa and read the BGFA Portfolio Insights Report by 60 Decibels.
For further information, please contact:
Petra Mikkolainen, Senior Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning Manager at Nefco
petra.mikkolainen@nefco.int, +358 10 618 0588
Kari Hämekoski, Fund Manager of BGFA and Senior Programme Manager at Nefco
kari.hamekoski@nefco.int, +358 10 618 0660
Lia Oker-Blom, Senior Communications Officer at Nefco
lia.oker-blom@nefco.int +358 10 618 0671
About BGFA
The Beyond the Grid Fund for Africa (BGFA) is a multi-donor facility established and managed by Nefco – the Nordic Green Bank. Nefco is an international financial institution based in Helsinki, Finland, focusing on environmental and climate investments and fund management. BGFA is implemented by Nefco, with the support of two project implementation partners: NIRAS, a development and engineering consultancy company headquartered in Denmark, and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), an international multilateral partnership based in Vienna, Austria.
The current EUR 110+ million BGFA programme was established in 2019 on Sweden’s initiative through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). It has since been developed by Nefco into a multi-donor programme funded by Denmark through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Germany through its development bank KfW, Norway through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation Norad and Sweden. Read more at www.beyondthegrid.africa
Photo: Off-grid lighting makes it possible for a schoolgirl in Zambia to study and read at home after darkness – Jason Mulikita for BGFA / Nefco