Sustainable Business Models for MFIs to Deliver Renewable Energy
The Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation's (NWTF) success story on achieving scale and sustainability for their solar program focuses on two aspects: demand generation through marketing and education by dedicated program officers, and product support (technical support, inventory management, returns, distribution) through partners and suppliers. NWTF’s dedicated team of solar officers orient MFI clients on the benefits of using solar, provide basic troubleshooting when needed, and contribute to portfolio growth by adding more loans. Their partners/suppliers offer training, tech support and assistance for speedy resolution in case of any product concerns.
Through product innovation, clients are encouraged to move up the energy ladder as NWTF introduce bigger systems that can power small appliances. They continually add new products to our solar portfolio to address household needs (like radio, fan, and television) or contribute to their livelihood (such as long range solar torch for fishing and farming).