This report is the first major survey of Tanzania’s mini-grid sector. In it, we shed light on lessons from Tanzania that can help accelerate mini-grid deployment across countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our analysis points to three key actions for governments and practitioners across the continent: 1) Create an adaptive and responsive policy approach, 2) Focus on the entire mini-grid ecosystem and 3) Invest in both qualitative and quantitative assessments of the development impacts of mini-grids.

This comprehensive study will be valuable to the large and growing community that is banking on mini-grids to transform energy access in Africa: government officials and regulators; entrepreneurs and private investors; and multilateral, bilateral, and philanthropic funders. Key recommendations, such as streamlining the permitting process and creating a central database on the status of mini-grid initiatives, could provide an action check list for those who wish to accelerate mini-grid development.

http://www.wri.org/publication/tanzania-mini-grids

http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/accelerating-mini-grid-deployment-sub-saharan-africa_1.pdf