DECEMBER 2020 | 2ND EDITION
Will COVID-19 Accelerate the Actualisation of the 5 D's for Energy Access?
The Outlook from Bangladesh
SOLshare staff receiving medical check-up.
The image says it all. 2020 has thrown new challenges at all of us. Ironically and stunningly, at the early stages of the pandemic in March, our users started calling us at SOLshare HQ in Dhaka because they were worried, not vice versa. But we were able to pay back the favour because as the saying goes amid every crisis lies a tremendous opportunity.
Co-financed by the DEG with funds from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, we managed to act fast. We were able to provide all of our users with free energy credits, critical digital health equipment, as well as solar-powered sewing machines for those who lost their jobs in the garment sector (due to lower demand in Europe) and settled back in their villages.
The situation also paved the way for exciting data insights; let’s say our users didn’t hoard toilet paper, but rather electricity credits! Within the company, we also coped quite well, amid the crisis we even managed to close another equity round of USD 1.5M, thanks to our existing investors (Future Energy Ventures, EDP Ventures, IIX Global and select angels), as well as new partners such as InnoEnergy, among others.
Within the ME family, we are all convinced that the future of energy will be fuelled by the 5 D’s, namely decarbonization, decentralization, deregulation, democratization, and digitization. The big question is, will this crisis accelerate us towards this future, or will it instead stall us? One thing is clear; the crisis has exposed many of the shortcomings of energy systems. Suddenly, in the Global South, there is increased talks about the massive deficit each country’s respective DESCOs with their incumbent, age-old business models have been accumulating over the years, and yet struggling to provide sustainable energy services for all.
Now some of you may say this is good news, however, only if we, the fighters for the 5D’s can reach out to them and work with an integrated, win-win approach, but this is easier said than done. At SOLshare, it is one of our big goals for 2021, the 50th Anniversary of Independent Bangladesh to prove precisely that.