“Learning beyond the Light Bulb” among Least Developed Countries based on a sustainable PV solar utility model

Sustainable provision of off-grid solar electricity for Less Developed Countries (LDC) is a basic first step toward enabling a range of Beyond the Light Bulb initiatives. The off-grid electricity program of the Community Solutions Initiative (CSI), still at an early stage of development in several countries, is focused now on demonstrating sustainability and scalability. Initial steps to incubate ideas as well as design, deploy, and lease SunBlazer units have honed CSI´s understanding of more holistic approaches to community empowerment. Effective product design requires in-country value chain economics whereby local franchisees demonstrate added value in their own context and marketplace. Lessons learned from the process of incubating and demonstrating the success of businesses owned by and for LDC communities contributes critically to a learning platform to educate on just and sustainable development practices. Thus the guiding principle of CSI is to incubate, demonstrate, and educate (I-D-E) across age groups to grow human capacity and community empowerment. This paper describes CSI accomplishments in sustainable community entrepreneur-based businesses to date and describes the need for broader INGO and community partnerships for “learning beyond the light bulb”.