The Mini-Grid Business

Send us Fan Mail Host Nico is joined by Aimee Jenks from the Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings, Desalegn Woldemariam, Managing Director of Humanitarian Energy Plc in Ethiopia, and Douglas Cox, who leads Renewvia’s work in East Africa from Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Together, they discuss what it really takes to electrify refugee settlements in Kenya and E...

Send us Fan Mail Everyone in our sector has heard about Mission 300. But who knows the range of instruments and processes behind this term? We sit down with World Bank representatives Jan Kappen (Regional DARES - Africa West) and James Knuckles (ASCENT - Africa East), plus Lamide Niyi-Afuye, CEO of the African Mini-Grid Developers Association, to unpack Mission 300 and why it could be a turning po...

Send us Fan Mail Nigeria shows what happens when mini-grids move from pilot projects to infrastructure policy. With over 200 million people and a vast rural electrification gap, the country has built one of the most mature regulatory and financing ecosystems for decentralized power in Africa—and a living laboratory of what works and what breaks at scale. In this episode, Nico is joined by Joanis H...

Send us Fan Mail The INENSUS team introduces ELECTR!FY , a real-data simulation game that allows players to run a virtual mini-grid company and experience the real-world trade-offs operators face every day. Stepping into the role of a mini-grid CEO, players navigate decisions around tariffs, site selection, staffing, digitisation, and financing—balancing profitability with customer satisfaction. T...

Send us Fan Mail When TAMARSO’s founder returned to Somalia after the end of the war, he knew exactly where to focus: solar minigrids. A countdown to ten. Then a village lights up—and everything changes. Children study after dark. Fishers navigate safely at night. Refrigerators keep goods cold. That moment captures the heart of TAMARSO’s story: a Somali minigrid company transforming sunshine into...

Send us Fan Mail Sierra Leone has been one of the early large minigrid roll outs in Africa. A great success and milestone for the sector with a lot of learnings.  Tariffs fell, demand jumped, and batteries died faster—that’s the uncomfortable arc of many rural mini-grids in Sierra Leone.  We sit down with Dipta Majumder of INENSUS and Momori Kamara of MIK Energy to unpack how a pioneering regulato...

Send us Fan Mail Sigmar Gabriel — ehemaliger Vizekanzler der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ehemaliger Bundesaußenminister sowie früherer Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Energie und Bundesminister für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit — spricht mit Nico Peterschmidt darüber, wie Europa auf Afrikas Entwicklung und Energiewende blickt und welche geopolitischen Kräfte beide prägen.  Wir sprech...

Send us Fan Mail Sigmar Gabriel — former Vice Chancellor of Germany, former Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, and former Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, as well as former Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety — joins us to discuss how Europe sees Africa’s development, its energy transition, and the geopolitical forces shaping both. We ex...

Send us Fan Mail What if electricity didn’t stop at lighting a room but kick-started a local economy? We head to Nigeria to unpack CEESOLAR’s journey from a bold 2017 idea to a working blueprint for mini-grids that power livelihoods—milling grain, cooling goods, charging e-tricycles, and teaching digital skills in a rural computer lab. The result is a simple but radical mindset shift: energy is no...

Send us Fan Mail Bas Hetterscheid from Wageningen University and Nico discuss Cold Chains in Africa and the role minigrids can play in their development.  The growing urban middle class in many African countries is demanding more fresh products, which may not be available close to the cities. Cold chains are required to make sure the products arrive at the market in good condition. Traders and pro...

Send us Fan Mail Unlock the hidden complexities of mini-grid company valuation with the brilliant minds of Brian Lukera Wambani from Camco and Michael Feldner from the GET.invest Finance Catalyst. This episode promises to equip you with the nuanced understanding required to navigate the valuation challenges faced by mini-grid enterprises, which operate at the crossroads of traditional utilities an...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Benjamin Curnier from AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) breaks down AMAP 2.0 —what it is, who it’s designed for, and how it works. If you’re a minigrid company looking to tap into technical assistance funding, this conversation offers the perfect starting point. 👉 Access the AMAP 2.0 guidelines and application documents here:  AMAP — Sustainable En...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for a special episode featuring Nico’s State of the Sector address, delivered in Nairobi during INENSUS’ 20th anniversary celebration in September 2025. In this keynote, Nico reflects on two decades of impact, explores today’s challenges and opportunities, and shares a forward-looking vision for the future of the sector.  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inensus-...

Send us Fan Mail Results-Based Financing (RBF) is now the go-to model for mini-grid subsidy disbursement—but there’s a catch: the money only comes after the connections are in place. That means developers have to front the $400–800 per connection cost for construction and equipment, creating a serious funding gap. In this episode, we chat with Fernando Valda from Energise Africa and Piyush Mathur...

Send us Fan Mail What's the best way to house a mini-grid system in remote areas? Should developers opt for the plug-and-play convenience of containerized solutions, the flexible modularity of prefabricated structures, or the permanence of traditional powerhouses? This question lies at the heart of scaling sustainable energy access to millions without electricity. Recorded live at the Energy...

Send us Fan Mail Minigrids need scale to become profitable — and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) can be a powerful way to get there fast. But what does it really take to acquire or merge with another mini-grid company? How do you structure a deal that works? In this episode, host Kellie Murungi (INENSUS) sits down with Matthew Orosz (OnePower) and Prosper Magali (Ensol), who share firsthand i...

Send us Fan Mail Join Kellie, Diego, and Nico from INENSUS' management as they peer into the future of the mini-grid sector for 2025 and beyond. If you're still shaping your strategy for the year, this episode could offer valuable insights to guide your planning. Disclaimer: Projections discussed are speculative, and INENSUS assumes no liability for their accuracy. LinkedIn: https://www....

Send us Fan Mail In recent years, DC mesh grids have gained recognition as a cost-effective and safe low-voltage solution for rural electrification, particularly for residential customers and small shops with power needs below 3-5 kW. In this episode, host Nico dives into the advantages and challenges of this emerging technology and the business models it enables. Joining the conversation are Afna...

Send us Fan Mail Migration remains a pressing issue in Europe and the United States, often spurred by conflict but increasingly influenced by climate change as a root cause. In this episode, Nico Peterschmidt and Jakob Schmidt-Reindahl from INENSUS explore how rural electrification and industrialization in Africa can strengthen resilience against climate impacts, potentially reducing migration pre...

Send us Fan Mail Community-owned electric cooperatives transformed rural electrification in the USA, raising access from 10% to 90% in just 15 years starting in the late 1930s. This successful model has since been replicated in regions like South America and countries such as the Philippines and Bangladesh. In Africa, this movement is now beginning to take shape. In this episode, Doreen Chipika Bw...

Send us Fan Mail Minigrid scale-up efforts are currently falling short of meeting SDG 7 targets, particularly in Africa, where private minigrid companies must evolve and professionalize to achieve sustainable growth. With limited capital available for building the next generation of top-tier utilities, the sector faces a significant corporate financing gap. At the same time project finance tailore...

Send us Fan Mail Project finance has been instrumental in scaling large, grid-connected renewable energy projects, with well-established approaches that have facilitated trillions of dollars in lending to the sector. The result has been access to low-interest, long-term financing. This is exactly what mini-grids need to achieve similar success and growth. Like large-scale renewable power systems,...

Send us Fan Mail Mini-Grid CEOs have long voiced concerns over the inconsistent and overly complicated funding methodologies that vary significantly across different funders and countries, leading to prolonged delays in electrification efforts. Similar frustrations are echoed in the processes of securing equity and debt. Host Nico is joined by Kyle Schutter from Sunlight Reviews and Ashish Shresth...

Send us Fan Mail Interconnected Mini-Grids provide reliable electricity to underserved main-grid connected customers. They are a new phenomenon in the mini-grid space and beyond that provide profitable investment opportunities to mini-grid companies thanks to significantly larger electricity demand in semi-urban areas, where interconnected mini-grids are typically situated compared to rural sites,...

Send us Fan Mail In this flagship episode, we uncover the transformative power of Rural Industrialization through mini-grids with insights from industry leaders Peter Nyeko of Mandulis Energy (Uganda), Camille André-Bataille of Anka (Madagascar), and Oluwatobi Soyombo of Havenhill Synergy Limited (Nigeria). The host Nico Peterschmidt of INENSUS (Tanzania, Uganda) contributes with his own experienc...