The Pay-As-You-Go Solar Home System As a Tool of Ending Energy Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Access to reliable sources of energy can have tremendous impact on the livelihoods of rural people, yet two-thirds of people living in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity. Pay-As-You-Go solar home systems have been touted in the solar industry as the panacea to affordable and clean renewable energy for remote rural areas. The paper critically reviews the corpus of work on Pay-As-You-Go solar home systems' adoption, usage, role, and impact in addressing energy poverty in rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa. The review evaluates academic and non-academic literature the success of the Pay-As-You-Go solar home system financing model in addressing the need for reliable sources of energy in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Using Google Scholar, Scopus, and Semantic Scholar to select peer-reviewed journal articles focused on Pay-As-You-Go solar home systems, the study critically analyses the existing literature on Pay-As-You-Go solar home systems over the years and unearths various views on the subject. The study concluded that the Pay-As-You-Go platform on solar home systems has been playing a pivotal rôle in the energy matrix of rural Su-Saharan Africa and consequently has been instrumental in increasing solar usage and reducing energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa.