CLASP and the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet have announced a $6.1m expansion of the Productive Use Financing Facility to reduce the cost of acquiring energy-efficient income-generating appliances across Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
The initiative, which directly addresses high appliance costs that have kept many businesses and households locked out of the clean energy economy, will enable the distribution of 10,000 modern tools such as solar-powered refrigerators, water pumps, milling machines, and agricultural equipment.
According to a statement by GEAPP Director of Communications in Africa, Annette Mutuku, PUFF offered a mix of grants, subsidies, and technical assistance to suppliers and distributors to help lower appliance prices and expand access to clean, energy-efficient technology.
The goal, it was learnt, was to make these products more affordable for small businesses, farmers, and low-income communities while supporting enterprise growth and green job creation.
The announcement, made in Cape Town recently, builds on a two-year pilot that partnered with 24 companies across six emerging markets and developing economies.
The statement disclosed that that phase brought 16,000 appliances to market, strengthened local supply chains, and reached over 58,000 households.
“Access to energy is foundational for economic growth. Efficient appliances and equipment turn energy into opportunity and should be considered essential energy infrastructure, alongside renewables,” said CLASP’s Senior Director for Africa, Emmanuel Aziebor.
According to the statement, PUFF 2.0 is expected to catalyse over 3,000 green jobs and further boost demand for clean energy-powered appliances by reducing acquisition costs.
It would also enhance outreach to women and youth, with the former accounting for nearly half of appliance buyers during the pilot phase.
It was said that households where women purchased appliances recorded a 94 per cent increase in average income.
A Nigerian shopkeeper, Abibat Akinwale, was quoted as saying that the facility enabled her to buy a solar-powered refrigerator.
“We were buying ice blocks, which led us to some debt, and after a while, the blocks would melt. We no longer had cold items for sale. The solar fridge has really increased sales. Business is very good now because I’m able to sell cold drinks,” she said.
Despite growing electrification, the firms said many clean energy appliances remained financially out of reach for low-income users, adding that PUFF’s financing model seeks to remove this cost barrier by supporting businesses to offer products at more favourable prices.
According to GEAPP’s Managing Director for Productive Use of Energy, Makena Ireri, the initiative addressed the shortfalls of energy access that failed to translate into job creation or enterprise growth.
“While electrification has expanded, many investments fail to turn access into economic opportunity, with limited job creation or enterprise growth. Through initiatives such as PUFF 2.0 collaboration with CLASP, we are addressing these shortfalls by ensuring that new energy connections drive productivity and power agriculture, energising ambition in small and medium-sized enterprises, and output in local manufacturing. Increased incomes from these activities spur economic growth and well-being in growing communities, creating jobs and improving the quality of life,” Ireri explained.
