Affordability

How to make products affordable to poor customers?

• Upfront Cost: Many products are too expensive to purchase, even though customers would save money in the long-term.
• Ongoing Cost: Many products have training and maintenance costs.

5 Affordability Models we identified

1. Selling low-cost products that are purchased upfront
2. Enterprise covers upfront costs itself, using in-house financing to let customers pay on credit or through ongoing fees
3. Helping customers access financing from partner banks or microfinance institutions
4. Getting costs subsidized by donors or wealthier customers
5. Enterprise sells to institutions or companies (B2B sales), who use energy products/services to benefit BOP populations.