What attracted you to the Kakuma/Kalobeyei area? Why did you choose to apply for the KKCF funding?

GIVE Ltd initialised its operations in Kakuma/Kalobeyei area in September 2020, in partnership with The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) under the MBEA II EnDev project that supported marketing and other soft costs like travel and surveys. Although GIVE Ltd sought to provide solar home systems (SHS) to businesses and households, the company soon realised that there was a market gap since the SHS and other existing solutions were not meeting the needs of enterprises in Kakuma due to low capacity.

With further research and investigations, we noted that there was Missing Market Failure, i.e., a mismatch between the demand and energy products available (small solar home systems), high mini-grid tariffs and lack of appropriate Pay-As-You-go AC power solutions. Power was/is supplied for only 4-5 hours/day, costing businesses up to US$200 per month, in addition to being highly unreliable.

However, in order to meet the energy needs of the various businesses, a large capital outlay was required for each business since the initial capital outlay was too high. Operational costs for the business were very high due to the remoteness of the area, and we were forced to step back and look for finances to subsidise our entry into the Turkana region, and enable us to provide both the equipment and business operational support to the consumers. This is the point at which KKCF’s intervention was strategic.