Increasing Rural Access to Finance for Productive Energy Use
Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development is providing technical support to Janautthan Samudayic Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited (JSLBSL) for implementing this project. The project is being implemented with the financial support from Sakchyam Challenge Fund.
The project aims to increase sustainable access to climate resilient-focused loan products for enhancing the rural economy and improving rural livelihoods. The loan products will ensure reliable energy through renewable energy technologies (RETs) and will provide financial services to poor and marginalized populations. These actions will also significantly decrease the energy disparity which exists between rural and urban areas. Investing in productive uses of energy will catalyse rural economic development across all sectors, increasing incomes, jobs, and the demand for financial services. New financial products developed by the project will be replicated by other Banks & Financial Institutions (BFIs) to encourage investment in rural communities, extending services to poor and underserved populations. The use of RETs will not just accelerate the productivity and profitability of income generation activities (IGAs) and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), but it will also increase their resilience to climate change by increasing their incomes, improving efficient use of available energy, and decreasing dependency on fuelwood and fossil fuels.
Objectives:
Provide a new credit facility of climate resilient-focused loan products for SMEs, enabling individuals to use RETs to create or expand businesses and income generation activities (IGAs).
Project Activities:
- Develop and strengthen financial mechanisms
- Build capacity of bank staffs on increasing financial access of SMEs and households for IGAs to install climate resilient technologies (CRTs)
- Facilitate JSLBSL on assessing the business opportunity for productive use of energy product for SMEs and IGAs
- Increase financial literacy and create awareness on CRT and its benefits
- Provide technical assistance for developing business plan for SMEs and IGAs for households.
- Facilitate in creating a network of BFIs and private companies
- Create linkages of SMEs and households with the vendors and market actors
- Create market demand for additional loan for cross-selling activities
Project Targets:
- Installation of 130 solar PV systems for lighting; 70 solar dryers; 30 solar water pumps; 6 solar water heaters; 8 solar refrigerators; 460 institutional improved cookstoves; 40 biogas plants; 6 solar grinding and milling systems; and 150 electric vehicles
- Disbursement of 1600 micro enterprise loan