Phase 2 (2015 – 2017): 21 Grantees
We are delighted to announce the latest recipients of the UK Government supported M4D Utilities Innovation Fund. We have awarded grants to twelve organisations across eleven countries who will test and scale the use of mobile technology to improve or increase access to energy, water and sanitation services.
Together with the previous funding round, GBP 3.4 million has now been committed in Phase 2 through Seed grants for early stage trials, Market Validation grants for scaling or replication of business models, and Utility Partnership grants to foster partnerships between utility companies and innovators. These grants will run for an 18-month period, with learnings and insights shared along the way.
Further details on the new projects are outlined below, and more information on the rest of our grant portfolio can be found in our Catalogue of Grantees. We’ll also be sharing some of our learnings from Phase 1 of the Innovation Fund in our Case Study Series over the next few months. Subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss them!
Utility Partnership Grant
Dialog, in partnership with Lanka Electricity Company (LECO), will offer smart metering with M2M communications to the domestic market and improve power distribution network monitoring capability. The smart meters will also be used to introduce a prepaid metering facility to the Sri Lankan market. The project will run in an identified Green Energy Zone where 3,200 smart meters will be deployed with 400 operating in prepaid mode. In addition, 144 distribution network monitoring points will be established within the zone.
The Lilongwe Water Board, in partnership with SeeSaw, will develop an alternative water payment solution for communal water points in peri-urban areas using mobile money and M2M communications. Use of water codes purchased through mobile money will enable water users to access water 24/7. The elimination of an intermediate water seller will lead to a reduction in water cost by 50%.
mWater™ aims to improve rural and small town water pipe system (WPS) performance in Benin through the provision of financial, business, and assistance Mobile-2-Web added value services to WPS operators. Through the Utility Partnership grant and within 15 months, Manobi, in partnership with MTN & Moov, the Association of WPS operators and commercial banks will introduce these new services to the current 150 WPS making use of mWater™, reaching 3.6 million people in 46 municipalities in 10 regions across Benin.
Seed Grant
Africa Water Enterprises, in partnership with Africell and Gam-Solar, will repair broken water systems and install eWATERtaps in villages in rural Gambia. Users will buy eWATERcredit via women water entrepreneurs or retailers using a NFC tag paying USD 0.01 cents per 20 litres. An App will allow retailers to buy eWater credit direct from Africell via Mobile Money. Funds will be used to pay for professional maintenance and repairs with the aim of overcoming the tragedy of unsustainable broken water supply systems in villages.
CityTaps has developed a smart prepaid water meter to enable the urban poor to access running water at home. The meter incorporates mobile money and M2M technologies, which allows households to make micro-prepayments for their water at any time using mobile money. The Seed Grant will see the Société des Eaux du Niger (SEEN) trial the technology across Niamey, Niger.
KopaGas, in partnership with several organisations, is developing prepaid Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) meters equipped with M2M technology that will enable medium and low-income households to switch from dirty and expensive charcoal to ultra clean LPG. The business model eliminates upfront costs and allows women to use mobile money to prepay for the quantities of gas that fit their budget, improving their economy and family health.
ME SOLshare is developing an electricity trading and distribution platform targeted for the Global South and tailored to the Bangladeshi market; a smart DC micro-grid that manages and meters power flows between rural households and businesses. Solar panels and decentralised storage systems will be added incrementally so that supply is guaranteed while avoiding sunk costs of earlier investment. End users will pay for electricity and earn revenue using their mobile money accounts. The cost-benefit of using M2M communications for remote monitoring and control will be evaluated.
Since its founding in 2006, Safe Water Network has focused on solving the twin challenges of drinking water quality and sustainability. A comprehensive model of water supply is anchored by the Safe Water Station – a community-level water treatment facility that produces high-quality water sold at affordable rates. This Seed grant will test the use of mobile data collection to improve both the monitoring of water points and response to maintenance issues for better water service delivery to small towns and peri-urban Ghanaian communities.
The Bright Lights for Benin project aims to catalyse the PAYG solar market in Benin by linking Greenlight Planet PAYG products with a ready-made solar supply chain. The project builds on a successful 18 month partnership between SNV and MTN to develop a solar distribution network. It will introduce PAYG solar to Benin for the first time and expects to sell 9,000 PAYG products over 18 months via a sustainable business model. The government of Benin has agreed to provide tax exemption on all products imported under the project.
SunCulture designs and sells solar-powered irrigation systems that make it cheaper and easier for farmers in Kenya to grow high-value fresh fruits and vegetables. Sun Culture is developing a solar powered irrigation system targeting the mass market of underserved small holder farmers, utilising PAYG technology to ensure affordability and thereby extending access to water pumping solutions to underserved communities in the developing world (starting with Kenya).
Village Infrastructure Angels (VIA)
VIA will partner with Telecom Vanuatu Ltd (TVL) and ACTIV Association to provide energy for lighting and productive uses to off-grid communities in Vanuatu. The use of telecom services and infrastructure has been well proven for small consumer-level loads like lighting, phone charging and TVs, but not yet for community-level productive loads such as agro-processing mills, refrigeration and carpentry tools. Vanuatu suffered a direct hit by a massive typhoon in March 2015, and these M2M-enabled Solar Light Industry Centres (SLICs) will help with reconstruction efforts.
Market Validation Grant
d.light has developed a business model designed to simultaneously drive mobile money adoption and expand energy access in Haiti. In partnership with Re-Volt, d.light will offer energy as a service to customers, leveraging Digicel’s existing network of Tcho Tcho mobile money agents as points of sale for their energy as a service offering. Part of the process of registering an account with Re-Volt will include registering for a mobile money account. This Market Validation grant will test how the adoption of d.light’s energy offering will drive adoption of mobile money, providing a use-case for maintaining an active account over time.