One quarter of the world's population (1.5 billion) doesn't have grid electricity and approximately half (3 billion) cooks with polluting, unhealthy traditional stoves.

Around the world, social entrepreneurs are pioneering methods to bring affordable renewable energy to these underserved customers. While they currently serve only a fraction of the existing market, the technologies and business models they are developing have the potential, if successfully scaled and replicated, to serve almost everyone.

This site is designed to help you better understand energy delivery for customers underserved by traditional markets, and the technologies and business models being used to help empower the bottom billions.

The initial group of enterprises tracked are laureates of the Tech Awards and Global Social Benefit Incubator at the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University. If you are affiliated with a social enterprise or group of social enterprises focused on microenergy for the 'bottom of the pyramid' and are interested in adding to this site, please let us know.

Learn about the business models being used to deliver energy solutions.

SKG Sangha biogas digester

We analyzed organizations across 6 different model aspects:

- Product Sourcing and Design

- Distribution

- Affordability

- Organization Financing

- Scaling

- Social Impact

Find Out More