Barefoot Power is starting a project to help 1 million people gain access to clean, efficient electricity in developing countries. With the recent advent of white LED lighting, which requires less than 1 watt of power to produce useful light, the entry point to electricity has suddenly changed.

www.ifc.org/led estimates that the poor burn $38 billion/year in kerosene lighting, and also disposable battery  use. This almost half of all development aid, and a large portion of the $150 billion/year of "increased aid" Sachs and others suggests is required to end poverty in our lifetime.

Energy poverty is a small slice of the poverty pie, probably about 5% if measured by annual expenditure by the poor on their most pressing needs. However, it would appear the technology ($5 rechargeable LED lamps and 1W solar panels) are now affordable for electricity access to be improved in a highly distributed, disruptive but complementary manner to traditional centrally planned and financed rural electrification. This market based approach is particularly relevant of Africa, which has seen very low improvements in electricity access, compounded now by high energy prices.

We require the assistance of interested partners in many different areas:

• investors at all levels
  • consumer financing 1 year microfinance loans  of $10-$200,
  • retailer financing of $50-$500,
  • district distributor financing of $500-$5,000 and
  • national partner financing of $10,000-$50,000
• partners in developing countries at all levels of this distribution network, non-profit or for profit
• ICT developers to help combine different open source software into rural energy focused development packages, probably including
  • business managment software such as opentaps or compiere
  • integrating this wit open office software and
  • GIS mapping for distribution visualization and market assessment
  • resource analysis tools for micro hydro, solar and biofuel minigrid planning
  • an ebay/proper.com type of peer-to-peer investment window for development-focused global micro investment
• microfinance organizations, both funders and grass roots MFIs, to start focusing on rural energy as a viable entry point to microfinance expansion in rural areas
• enthusiastic project managers who can work at low cost in developing countries to help manage the deliver of electricity to our first target of 1 million people

Please contact us at info@barefootpower.com if you can contribute to this project in any way - it may be desk-based web development, pilot project sponsorship, larger investment interest, or reducing energy poverty in your local area. This is a complicated project that requires inputs from everyone and anyone - hope to hear from you....