Tackling Inclusion and Scale to Reach the Last Mile for Rural Poverty Alleviation: Key Insights from Asian Examples in the Poor People's Energy Outlook 2018

Leaving no one behind is a core theme for the energy access sector and relates directly to the potential for energy access programs to inclusively address rural poverty. This presentation discussed key insights from detailed analysis of at-scale energy access programs in India and Nepal from Poor People’s Energy Outlook (PPEO) 2018. It also highlighted contrasting approaches to program design and propose a set of metrics to assess inclusiveness by gender, remoteness, and poverty. It also underscored barriers which can limit the scale of delivery or prevent rural communities making the most of access to electricity including technical and performance factors, affordability, planning, and support for productive uses, and mainstreaming gender awareness. Drawing on the PPEO and other examples of Practical Action’s initiatives for market activation and supporting productive uses, the presentation also made recommendations for how energy access programs can truly meet the needs of rural communities and kickstart development.