Value Chain Analysis of Lighting and

Telephone Recharging Options in Off-

grid Cameroon December 2012

Study done by S2 Services Sarl

Durando NDONGSOK

Hervé AZEMTSA

Joseph Magloire OLINGA

Roberte Fani MOMO

Address: Rue Drouot

BP 122 18, Douala – Cameroon

Tel: +237 33 47 26 02/99 00 80 27

Email: info@s2-gmbh.com

Website: www.s2-gmbh.com

3

Executive Summary

- Around 10 million of people, representing 50% of Cameroon’s population still

rely on kerosene lamps and other tradition solutions for lighting, with

enormous negative financial, health and environmental consequences.

- Many households in remote areas nowadays possess mobile phones and

recharging those is significantly costly to them.

- Actual costs of lighting and recharging phones in off grid Cameroon are:

Daily Yearly

FCFA USD FCFA USD

Kerosene lamps + phone recharge 132 0.26 48 180 96

Battery torch + phone recharge 51 0.19 34 308 69

Diesel generator 648 1.30 236 695 473

- Better and cheaper technologies like pico-PV exist in the world but are

struggling to enter the Cameroon market:

Hourly Daily Yearly

CFA USD CFA USD CFA USD

Small pico-PV 4.3 0.009 15 0.030 5500 11.0

Medium pico-PV

5.9 0.012 21 0.041 7500 15.0

Large pico-PV 9.1 0.018 32 0.064 11 667 23.3

Nuru 6.3 0.013 22 0.044 8033.3 16.1

- The Medium pico-PV has been selected as the best alternative to replace

kerosene lanterns and battery torches. Using it will result in avoided

spending per year as indicated in the table below:

FCFA/year USD/year

Cost of using kerosene lamps 44.9 billion 89.8 million

Cost of using battery torches 8.8 billion 17.6 million

Cost of phone recharging 26 billion 52 million

Total 79.7 billion 159.4 million

Cost of using Medium pico-PV to substitute kerosene lamps

1

21.7 billion 43.4 million

Cost of using Medium pico-PV to substitute battery torches

2

6 billion 12 million

Total Medium pico-PV 27.7 billion 55.4 million

Avoided spending 52 billion 104 million

1 Values used for the estimation are: 1500 FCFA/year; 2.3 lamps per household and 72% of

the total market 2 Values used for the estimation are: 1500 FCFA/year; 2 torches per household and 23% of

the total market

4

- The Market Map of the pico-PV development in Cameroon has been done

using the Value Chain Analysis methodology suggested by Hellin and Meijer

(2006); the three layers of the Market Map namely (i) Enabling Environment,

(ii) Value Chain and (iii) Service Providers have been analyzed:

o A full chain of actors is presented and the role of each actor

presented and discussed

o The environment that will facilitate the market development and

different services that indirect actors have to offer are discussed

- The Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) has a worldwide

experience in developing and connecting people’s capacities that can be put

in place in Cameroon to help poor households to break out of lighting and

phone recharging poverty. Keys recommendations to SNV to support the

development of pico-PV market in Cameroon include:

o Support the National Agency for Standards in insuring only good

quality products enter the market

o Develop researches in the market and make this available to all

actors in the value chain of pico-PV in Cameroon

o Train potential pico-PV retailers to take over the awareness raising of

households, the distribution of products and after-sales services.

- A succinct list of pertinent studies in the field of rural lighting in Cameroon

and the world is presented at the end of this report

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Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 3

List of acronyms ....................................................................................................... 7

Introduction .............................................................................................................. 8

Background of the study ....................................................................................... 8

Objectives of the study ......................................................................................... 9

Expected results of the study ................................................................................ 9

Methodology of the study .................................................................................... 10

Adapting the RMA and VCA for the study ........................................................... 10

Lighting and phone recharging means in rural area of Cameroon .......................... 12

The kerosene lamp ............................................................................................. 12

Battery lamps and torches .................................................................................. 13

Diesel generators ............................................................................................... 14

Comparison of traditional lighting means ............................................................ 15

Recharging phones............................................................................................. 15

Yearly cost of lighting and phone recharging in rural Cameroon using kerosene

lamps and battery torches................................................................................... 16

Using pico-PV for lighting and phone recharging in off-grid Cameroon ............... 17

The small pico-PV ........................................................................................... 17

The medium pico-PV ....................................................................................... 18

The large pico-PV ........................................................................................... 18

The Nuru technology ....................................................................................... 19

The cost of using these alternative technologies ............................................. 20

Comparing traditional and alternative means for lighting and phone recharging in

off-grid Cameroon ............................................................................................... 20

Value chain analysis of pico-PV market for off-grid area of Cameroon ................... 22

The methodology ................................................................................................ 22

The Value Chain Actors ...................................................................................... 23

Group 1 actors ................................................................................................ 23

Group 2 actors ................................................................................................ 23

Group 3 actors ................................................................................................ 24

Group 4 actors ................................................................................................ 25

The Enabling Environment.................................................................................. 25

Service providers ................................................................................................ 27

The Full Market Map ........................................................................................... 28

SWOT Analysis of pico-PV market in Cameroon .................................................... 30

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Strengths ............................................................................................................ 30

Weaknesses ....................................................................................................... 30

Opportunities ...................................................................................................... 31

Threats ............................................................................................................... 31

Conclusions and strategies to improving the market of pico-PV systems in

Cameroon .............................................................................................................. 32

Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 32

Key strategies to improve the market .................................................................. 33

Group 1 actors ................................................................................................ 33

Group 2 actors ................................................................................................ 34

Group 3 actors ................................................................................................ 35

Group 4 actors ................................................................................................ 35

Key recommendations to SNV for their implication in the development of the market

of pico-PV lanterns in Cameroon ............................................................................ 37

Implication of SNV on the Enabling Environment of the Market Map .................. 37

Implication of SNV on the Support Services ....................................................... 38

Implication of SNV on the Value Chain ............................................................... 38

Brief review of existing studies on rural lighting ...................................................... 40

Cameroon specific studies .................................................................................. 40

Non-Cameroon specific studies .......................................................................... 41

Annex I: List of surveyed households and their villages .......................................... 43

Annex II: List of focus group meetings and attendees ............................................ 45

Annex III: Potential group 2 actors that supported the research ............................. 48

7

List of acronyms AER Cameroon Rural Electrification Agency

ANOR Cameroon National Agency for Norms and Standards

BoP Bottom of pyramid

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

ECAM National Household Survey

FER Rural Energy Fund

GIZ German International Cooperation Company

LED Light-Emitting Diode

MFI Micro Finance Institutions

MINEE Ministry of Water Resources and Energy

MINFI Ministry of Finance

MINFOP Ministry of Professional Training

MINPMEESA Ministry of Small and Medium Size Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft

MINRESI Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation

NGO Non Governmental Organism

NIS National Institute of Statistics

Pico-PV Pico Photovoltaic system

RMA Rapid Market Appraisal

SHS Solar Home Systems

SIE Energy Information System

SME Small and Medium Size Enterprise

SNV Netherlands Development Organization

VAT Value Added Tax

VCA Value Chain Analysis

WB World Bank

8

Introduction

Background of the study Cameroon is a country endowed with a huge and diversified amount of natural

resources located in Central Africa. This resource potential still has to be

transformed into usable energy (electricity, heat, etc…) to better the life of the

population evaluated at 20 million inhabitants. The hydro potential of Cameroon for

instance is the second potential in the whole Africa after Democratic Republic of the

Congo, but less than 5% is exploited (SIE, 2010). When good part of that potential

will be exploited and transformed to electricity, it will need transportation and

distribution infrastructure to be available to households everywhere in the country.

To date, only 48% of the population – around half of the 20 million inhabitants – is

connected to the national electricity grid and therefore has access to electricity

(Lighting Africa Report, 2012). Before the “modern light” becomes in the future

available to everyone, the rest continues to rely mostly on wick-based kerosene

lanterns and to a lesser extend – as this study has found out – on battery torches

for their lighting needs. Wick-based kerosene lanterns are expensive, unpractical,

unhealthy and bad for the environment, compared to solar lanterns, but they are the

best available solutions that non-grid connected households have been using in

Cameroon, like 2 other billion people worldwide.

Before the problem of lighting is solved, for the last 10 years, the mobile

communication has entered the Cameroon market and is fast penetrating off-grid

areas. Like a wick-based kerosene lanterns needs to be refilled with kerosene on a

recurring basis, mobile phones need their batteries to be recharged after a

maximum of 3 days in many cases. Recharging mobile phones is expensive and

time consuming for rural populations. They have to travel to the next grid-connected

area or to the next holder of diesel generator and pay to get their phones recharged.

For many years already, the pico-photovoltaic (pico-PV) systems that can be used

for lighting and recharging small appliances like mobile phones in off-grid area has

been developed, tested and is in used worldwide. The pico-PV systems are offered

in a large range of sizes and prices and are clean, affordable and practical for

households that have adopted it, despite the cost of acquisition that is high in some

cases. In Cameroon, the penetration of pico-PV is rather timid. Very few players

exist, and active players are facing barriers that infringe their growth and

development in the market.

9

The Netherlands Development Organization, SNV wants to become an active

player in the pico-PV market in Cameroon and brings it experience in renewable

energy development around the world. That means to facilitate the movement of

these clean and affordable lighting solutions from suppliers to the end users in rural

and peri-urban areas of Cameroon. SNV has initiated this study to clearly elucidate

the areas of its intervention in this market.

Objectives of the study

The overall goal of this study is to elucidate potential areas of intervention by SNV

in the existing market for pico-PV lighting and phone recharging systems,

particularly in rural and peri-urban areas of Cameroon. The following are specific

objectives:

- Complete rapid market assessments of the existing market of pico-PV in

Cameroon;

- In-depth interviews with bigger players in the market, and organizations

intervening in the distribution of relevant technologies or provision of

services.

- Develop models of the existing methods of provision of lighting and small

appliance charging services and products, from traditional and renewable

energy sources.

- Use these models to develop detailed descriptions of weak linkages and

potential areas of intervention,

- An inventory of other available solar energy studies done in Cameroon and

in the world in general.

Expected results of the study

The following are the expected results from this study:

- A full map of existing (traditional) means for lighting and phone recharging in

rural Cameroon and associated costs and hurdles;

- Existing models of provisions of traditional and alternative lighting and phone

recharging means in rural Cameroon;

- A value chain analysis of pico-PV systems in Cameroon;

- Key strategies to improve the market of pico-PV in Cameroon;

- Proposition of area of intervention of SNV in pico-PV market in Cameroon

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Methodology of the study The study was conducted applying the Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA) and Value

Chain Analysis (VCA) tools.

Adapting the RMA and VCA for the study The RMA is a tool that was mostly developed by the International Labor

Organization to support SMEs in developing countries in developing markets for

their products.

The RMA tool has however been adapted to studies like this to have in a short time

a good analysis and understanding of a market. The RMA is based on intelligent

rapid data collection and analysis.

The VCA is defined as “the full range of activities which are required to bring a

product or service from conception, through the different phases of production

(involving a combination of physical transformation and the input of various

producer services), delivery to final consumers, and final disposal after use.”

(Kaplinsky R. and Morris M., 2000 p4).

There are no fixed rules in applying the VCA and RMA, but with resources

permitting, Hellin and Meijer recommend to use first a qualitative analysis followed

by a quantitative study (Hellin J. and Meijer M., 2006 P4).

In this study, a mix of qualitative and quantitative data types were researched and

analyzed based on existing data available and understanding of the market by the

research team.

- Primary data were quantitative and collected through questionnaires, but

also, when administering the questionnaires to respondents (households on

the one hand and inventoried pico-PV sellers on the other hand), qualitative

questions were asked.

- Secondary data were collected during focus group meetings where

interactive discussions took place. These data were more qualitative.

- Tertiary data were obtained reading existing literature for related studies in

Cameroon and similar studies around the world to extract qualitative and

quantitative data that were used further to develop the value chain.

Questionnaires

We conducted two questionnaires:

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- One questionnaire dedicated to households

- Another questionnaire for inventoried companies offering pico-PV solutions

in Cameroon

For the questionnaire dedicated to households, a simple random sampling was

adopted. The size of the sampling was based on 90% precision and 10% margin of

error. For 10 million inhabitants (we focused and applied the questionnaire only to

off-grid area) and applying an average of 5 persons per households, the total size is

2 million households. With 90% precision and 10% margin of error, the minimum

required sampling size was calculated at 68. We conducted 75 questionnaires with

the available time, covering the minimum size required.

Questionnaires were administered in 7 villages and 3 regions of Cameroon (see

Annex I for complete list of villages) from 3 Regions of Cameroon, namely Far

North, East and North West, to have a good representation of the whole country.

For questionnaires dedicated to pico-PV sellers, all 12 inventoried players were

contacted, of which 8 answered the questionnaires representing 67%, which is a

good coverage.

Focus group meetings

We had focus group meetings during which we interactively discussed the potential

value chain to facilitate the penetration of pico-PV in rural area of Cameroon in

Maroua, Bertoua, Yaoundé and Bamenda. Information received from these

meetings where often challenged during the meeting to get a full clarification. A

complete list of attendees to different focus group meetings is available in Annex II.

Literature review

Several studies were read on the rural lighting and phone recharging issue for

Cameroon, but as well general studies in the world. A brief description of related

studies interesting for Cameroon is found in the last chapter of this document.

The documents were mostly searched using Google Search, but also contacting

resources people known by the research team.

These 3 data types were then analyzed, discussed by the research team and SNV

to come out with the results presented in the following chapters.

12

Lighting and phone recharging means in rural area of

Cameroon

The kerosene lamp

Kerosene lamps remain the largest lighting means in off grid rural and area. The

figure below presents the global repartition of first lighting means in surveyed

regions:

We used the result of the survey conducted and different literature to compile the

different costs as indicated in the table below:

Parameter Indication / average value

Yearly cost (FCFA)

Comment/clarification

1 kerosene lamps cost

2000 FCFA per lamp

1000 We suppose a kerosene lamp can last on average 2 years.

2 Lamps per household

2.3 lamps 2300 Computing with the cost of lamp.

3 Kerosene costs 562 per liter 29224 Computing with the kerosene purchase frequency

4 Kerosene purchase frequency

1 per week NA

5 Transportation 3.26 FCFA per time

1695.2 We calculated an average 326 transportation cost each time and take only 10%, because households usually combine the kerosene purchase with other (shopping) activities. Then we multiply by the purchase frequency.

6 Accessories (wig and glass)

2500 Estimated value after discussion with households.

With the estimation above, we compute the yearly cost of using kerosene lamps to

be 35 719 FCFA.

72%1%

1%

23%

3%

Main lighting means

Kerosene lamp

Electric lamp

Solar lamp

Battery torches

Generator

13

The result of the survey and discussion with households show that the light is used

on average 3.53 hours per day. We compute with this value the cost of lighting in

rural area of Cameroon to be 28 FCFA/hour of light.

Result Value

FCFA USD4

Yearly cost of using kerosene lamps in Cameroon

35 719 71.44

Cost per hour of kerosene lamps per household

28 0.06

Battery lamps and torches

We use the following parameters to estimate the cost of lighting in Cameroon using

battery torches. The parameters came from the result of the survey, discussions

with users and literature review.

Parameter Indication / average value

Yearly cost (FCFA)

Comment/clarification

1 Battery torches cost

1000 4000 We assume a torch lasts 3 months (4 torches purchased per year)

2 Number of torches per household

2 8000 Quality is bad and the torch can be broken the next day after purchase.

3 Cost of batteries 250 13 000 We compute using the frequency of purchase and the number of torches per household

4 Frequency of purchasing batteries

Every 2 weeks

5 Transportation 3.26 FCFA per time

847.6 We use the same value as for the kerosene purchase because the principle of buying batteries is the same, but just half less here, since the purchase is every 2 weeks.

With the estimation above, the computed yearly cost of using battery torches is set

to be 21 848 FCFA.

The result of the survey and discussion with households show that the light is used

on average 3.55 hours per day. With that value the computed cost of lighting in rural

area of Cameroon using battery torches is 17 FCFA/hour of light.

3This value is also the default value used in many CDM methodologies applied to rural

lighting. 4 Exchange rate: 1USD = 500 FCFA, used in the whole report

5This value is also the default value used in many CDM methodologies applied to rural

lighting.

14

Result Value

FCFA USD

Yearly cost of using battery torches in Cameroon

22 695 45.39

Cost per hour of battery torches used per household

18 0.03

Diesel generators

Diesel generators have always been used in rural area for electricity generation. But

these were used in public places like shops in rural neighborhood. Due to the

drastic reduction in prices (price range 50 000 – 55 000 FCFA), wealthier

households in rural area can afford a diesel generator for themselves.

We use the following parameters to estimate the cost of using diesel generators in

rural area of Cameroon:

Parameter Indication / average value

Yearly cost (FCFA)

Comment/clarification

1 Cost of diesel generator

55 000 FCFA 11000 We assume a diesel generator can last 5 years when daily used

2 Diesel consumption

1 liter per day NA 365 liter per year

3 Cost of diesel 600 FCFA per liter

219 000 Computed with the daily diesel consumption

4 Frequency of purchasing diesel

1 per week NA

5 Transportation 3.26 FCFA per

time6

1695.2 We use the same value as for the kerosene purchase because the principle of buying diesel is the same

6 Maintenance and accessories

5000 This cost is our own assumption

With the estimation above, we compute the yearly cost of using diesel generators to

be 236 695 FCFA.

The result of the survey and discussion with households show that the light is used

on average 5 hours7 per day for diesel generators. We compute with this value the

cost of lighting in rural area of Cameroon using diesel generators to be 130

FCFA/hour of light.

6We consider only 10% of the spending on transportation are included to the costs of diesel

purchase. 7People with diesel generators use the light longer in rural area. Usually they can associate

the use of the generator with other activities like holding a shop.

15

Result Value

FCFA USD

Yearly cost of using diesel generators in Cameroon

236 695 473

Cost per hour of diesel generators used per household

130 0.26

Comparison of traditional lighting means Means Cost per hour of

light (FCFA) Comments

Kerosene lamp 28 These 2 are comparable, with the battery torch virtually cheaper. But kerosene lamps are more practical and suitable than torches. With torches:

- Households mostly stay in the dark and lighting it just for specific tasks

- Children cannot study at night

Battery lamp and torch

17

Diesel generator 130 Acquisition and running costs are very high for rural households. Only very few (3%) can afford it.

Recharging phones

The mobile phone distribution in rural area of Cameroon seems to be quite high.

Some families have already more than 3 phones in the household8. The figure

below gives the repartition of phones per household:

We use the following parameters obtained from the survey to estimate the cost of

recharging phones in rural area of Cameroon:

Parameter Indication / average value

Yearly cost (FCFA)

Comment/clarification

1 Cost of recharge 72.5 FCFA 11 690 Computed using the frequency of recharge, the number of phones per households, and the average cost for 52 weeks (a year)

2 Frequency of recharge

2.28 times per week

NA

3 Number of phones per household

1.36 NA

8But it’s important to mention the furthest we went was 20 km away from the urban area.

Maybe deeper in the village people will have less mobile phones and pay more for recharge.

23%

21%

9%11%

36%

Mobile phone per household

One

Two

Three

More than three

None

16

4 Transportation9 3.26 FCFA per

time 3865 We use the same thinking as with

kerosene purchase, but the frequency of recharge is different (2.28x52 times per year)

With the parameters above we compile the following results:

Result Value

FCFA USD

Yearly cost of phone recharges 15 555 31.11

Daily cost of phone recharge 42.62 0.09

Yearly cost of lighting and phone recharging in rural Cameroon

using kerosene lamps and battery torches

With the above calculations, and using the existing information, the research team

draws the following input data for the estimation of yearly costs of lighting and

phone recharging in Cameroon:

Parameter Value Comment Source

Total population 20 million

Off-grid population 9.6 million 48% of total population

Off-grid households 1.75 million 5.5 people per household

Households using kerosene lamps

1.26 million 72% of off-grid households This research

Households using battery torches for lighting

0.4 million 23% of off-grid households This research

Households struggling to recharge their phones

1.66 million 72%+23%. The other (5%) are using their diesel

generators mostly

This research

For kerosene lamps

FCFA/year USD/year

Cost of using kerosene lamps

44.9 billion 89.8 million

Cost for lamps and accessories

6 billion 12 million

Cost for kerosene and transport

10

38.9 billion 78 million

9From the survey, more than 70% of households recharge their phones using electricity, and

have therefore to pay for transportation. 10

The transport is included because average household travel to buy their kerosene.

17

For battery torches

FCFA/year USD/year

Cost of using battery torches

8.8 billion 17.6 million

Cost for torches 3.2 billion 6.4 million

Cost for batteries and transport

5.6 billion 11.1 million

For phone recharging

FCFA/year USD/year

Cost of phone recharging 26 billion 52 million

Combined, households in Cameroon spend per year more than 80 billion FCFA

(around 160 million USD) for lighting and recharging phones. The market potential

for penetration of pico-PV is very big for actors who are interested in investing in

that sector in Cameroon.

Using pico-PV for lighting and phone recharging in off-grid

Cameroon

The rapid market assessment of pico-PV in Cameroon shows that there are

different size, type and prices of lanterns in the market. The most spread sizes with

associated costs in the market that the research team has found out are:

- Small pico-PV costing around 5500 FCFA (cannot recharge phones)

- Medium pico-PV costing around 15000 FCFA (can recharge phones)

- Large pico-PV costing around 35000 FCFA (can recharge phones)

The small pico-PV

Many small pico-PV exists in the market in Cameroon.

After analysis, the most used for the moment is the

d.light S10 sold by Total Cameroon at the price of

5500 FCFA.

Product features:

- Integrated polycrystalline solar panel

- Smart LED indicator for solar charge intensity

- Easily-replaceable, high-performance battery

- Two brightness settings (18 lumen for 8 hours or 27 lumen for 4 hours

- Dual-charging (solar & electric)

- Lifetime more than 50,000 hours

18

- 300mW solar panel.

- 3.6V 350mAh Ni-MH battery

- Rated full recharge in 10 hours of full sunlight (1 kW/m2)

The medium pico-PV

The medium pico-PV is another d.light (d.light

250) sold by Total Cameroon.

Product features

- Bright light and mobile charging

- Four brightness settings (4 hours, 6

hours, 12 hours and 100 hours)

- High-efficiency, weather-proof solar

panel

- Rain-resistant housing

- Indicator showing battery charge level

- Robust circuitry for long-life performance

- Deep discharge and overcharge protection to preserve battery life

- Easily replaceable, high-performance battery

- Lifetime more than 50,000 hours

- 3.6V 1500mAh, Ni-MH 2A battery

- can charge a mobile phone to 80 percent of its full battery capacity in as little

as one hour

The large pico-PV

The large pico-PV available in Cameroon market

is the Philips Uday lantern costing 35,000 FCFA

in the market.

Product characteristics:

- Long usage time: 4-5 hours usage on 5W

PLS lamp (8000 hours), output: 125

lumen.

- Solar charge: 5W polycrystalline silicon

solar panel,

- 6-10 hours to recharge the 6V 4.5Ah SLA battery.

- 3 seconds warm-start operation for longer lamp life.

- Extra safe: Overcharging and deep-discharge protection and fuse for battery

disconnection.

19

- Portable use: Lantern can be hung in different positions by versatile strap.

- Grid charge: Wide operating range, 110-270V mains adapter included, so

lantern can also be used in or close to grid areas.

Beside these 3 categories of pico-PV lanterns, the research team has found the

existence of the Nuru technology in the market.

The Nuru technology

The Nuru technology consists of:

1. The Nuru Light: Portable, rechargeable

LED Lights, each many times brighter than

the light produced by a typical kerosene

lamp.

The Nuru Light gives up to 25 hours of light

with a full recharge; and is used individually

in a variety of ways (head/neck lamp, hung

up, resting on flat surface or bottle-mounted) or connected together (multiple

Lights in various configurations)

Technical characteristics are:

- More than 25 lux at 0.75m (on the High setting)

- LED lifetime: 30,000 hours with no degradation demonstrated in the light

output after 2000 hours

- Battery lifetime: > 200 recharge cycles without any battery capacity loss

- Battery replacement: Batteries can be easily disconnected (via the molex

connector) and replaced at the end of life.

- 0.216W / 60mA (LED), 3.6V (Battery pack)

2. NuruPOWERCycle: The Nuru Light is recharged

using a pedal generator. With minimal human

exertion (approx. one rotation per second), up to 5

Nuru Lights are recharged simultaneously in just

under 20 minutes

3. Nuru Phone Charger: Each Nuru Light user can

charge his phone directly taking the energy from his

lamp anytime, anywhere by simply plugging the Nuru

Phone Charger to the lamp and connecting his mobile

20

phone to it. This will avoid dependence to phone recharging points.

The cost of using these alternative technologies

The table below gives the input data used for the estimation of yearly costs of

different technologies for lighting in Cameroon:

Acquisition cost

(FCFA)

Lifetime (years)

Daily usage (hours)

Recharges per month

Cost of recharge (FCFA)

Small pico-PV 5500 1* 3.5 NA NA

Medium pico-PV 15 000 2* 3.5 NA NA

Large pico-PV 35 000 3* 3.5 NA NA

Nuru 2500 3* 3.5 3 200

*The key element in determining the life expectancy is the battery. Other parts of the pico-

PV – like the panel, the LED light, different cables and the plastic container – can last for

very long time. But batteries will scarcely go beyond 3 to 4 years of age. Also, in the

beginning before the market is well developed and different actors of the value chain –

especially technical people – are available everywhere, the usage and maintenance will not

be well done and lanterns will easily fail to work for long period of time. We combined the

specifications of batteries plus discussions with actors in the market already and some users

to come out with the expected lifetime as given in the table above.

The table below gives costs of using these 3 sizes pico-PV and the Nuru technology

based on the input table above:

Hourly Daily Yearly

CFA USD CFA USD CFA USD

Small pico-PV 4.3 0.009 15 0.030 5500 11.0

Medium pico-PV 5.9 0.012 21 0.041 7500 15.0

Large pico-PV 9.1 0.018 32 0.064 11 667 23.3

Nuru 6.3 0.013 22 0.044 8033.3 16.1

Comparing traditional and alternative means for lighting and phone

recharging in off-grid Cameroon

All households in rural Cameroon need lighting and pico-PV can be a good solution

to replace existing kerosene lamps and battery torches. This research has found out

that on average each rural household of Cameroon possesses 1.36 mobile phones

that they also need to recharge more than 2 times per week. The best solution to

offer them is system that can give light and recharge their phones for lesser costs.

Different alternative solutions costs:

- Small pico-PV is 5 500 per year but since it does not recharge mobile

phones, its user will have to spend 15 555 FCFA extra for phone recharge,

making a total cost of 21 055 FCFA per year

- The Medium pico-PV costs per year 7500 FCFA

21

- The Large pico-PV costs per year 11 667 FCFA

- The Nuru technology costs per year 8033.3 FCFA

The Medium pico-PV is therefore the ideal system for the market in off-grid poor

area and this is what the research team used for comparison:

FCFA/year USD/year

Cost of using kerosene lamps 44.9 billion 89.8 million

Cost of using battery torches 8.8 billion 17.6 million

Cost of phone recharging 26 billion 52 million

Total 79.7 billion 159.4 million

Cost of using Medium pico-PV to substitute kerosene lamps

11

21.7 billion 43.4 million

Cost of using Medium pico-PV to substitute battery torches

12

6 billion 12 million

Total Medium pico-PV 27.7 billion 55.4 million

Avoided spending 52 billion 104 million

11

Values used for the estimation are: 1500 FCFA/year; 2.3 lamps per household and 72% of the total market 12

Values used for the estimation are: 1500 FCFA/year; 2 torches per household and 23% of the total market

22

Value chain analysis of pico-PV market for off-grid area of

Cameroon

The methodology As stated before, there is no standard methodology in applying a Value Chain

Analysis (VCA).

Hellin and Meijer developed however comprehensive “Guidelines for Value Chain

Analysis” ((Hellin J. and Meijer M., 2006) that the research team has found well fit to

apply for this study.

The guidelines suggest that a good place to start is to draw a Map of the Market, to

build up an understanding of different players and actors on the product

development chains (from input to final user) and the relationships between them,

along with the factors that determine how well or badly the chains are working.

A good Market Map starts with a Value Chain, followed by a “Mapping and Analysis”

of the Value Chain using a Value Chain Analysis, which is an iterative process using

qualitative and quantitative tools. Tools suggested by Hellin and Meijer are:

- Observation to have a greater understanding of the situation being

researched. The research team has done this extensively.

- Semi-structured interview and focus group meetings. This is as Hellin and

Meijer clearly state “an art than a set of fixed procedures and the interview

process is dynamic and iterative”

- Questionnaires to have quantitative data on the situation being researched

After the Value Chain is “Mapped”, Hellin and Meijer suggest that to understand

more about the extraneous factors that influence the way the value chain works,

there is a need to use the Market Map and they define this as: “The market map is a

conceptual and practical tool that helps identify policy issues that may be hindering

or enhancing the functioning of the chain and also the institutions and organizations

providing the services (e.g. market information, quality standards) that the different

chain actors need in order to make better informed decisions”

The Market Map is made up of three inter-linked components:

- Value chain actors

- Enabling environment (infrastructure and policies, institutions and processes

that shape the market environment)

23

- Service providers (the business or extension services that support the value

chains’ operations)

The guidelines of Hellin and Meijer have been thoroughly adapted by the research

team for this study to get the result presented in the following paragraphs.

The Value Chain Actors The research team has used market observation, literature review and focus group

meetings to draw the following value chain for the market of pico-PV in Cameroon:

The market of pico-PV in Cameroon is not yet very well developed. The value chain

above is not what exists already, but rather what came out from the analysis of the

research team as the scenarios that will develop in Cameroon.

Group 1 actors

These actors are out of Cameroon. To date there is no local lanterns or spare part

producers in Cameroon and this will not likely happen in the nearby future. This is

not happening in any African country for the moment, because there is no

infrastructure to produce at costs that will compete with mass productions in Asia.

These actors therefore do not really influence the market in Cameroon.

Group 2 actors

These actors are:

- Importers: They import solar lanterns in large quantities and sell to

distributors and retailers. They will import any product and let customers

select what they want.

Lanter

producers

Importers

Distributors

Retailers

Sales points

Spare part

producers

Local

assemblers

Group of

users

Individual

users

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

24

- Distributors: They can import, but can also buy from local importer or from

assembler to trade down to Group 3 and/or Group 4. They will usually seal

partnerships with selected Group 1 actors for specific products. TOTAL

Cameroon is for the moment to the knowledge of the research team the

main Distributor of pico-PV lanterns. They distribute d.light13 products in their

petrol stations

- Assemblers: They import raw equipment or semi-finished product and

assemble them locally to produce solar lanterns and then sell to any

interested buyer (Group 3 and 4 or distributors). Only one company Light for

All Production S.A. Cameroon mentioned to the research team they are

planning to assemble solar lanterns in Cameroon.

The research team inventoried 12 Group 2 actors and only 8 were opened to

exchange on the topic. Of the 8 (the complete list and contacts is available on

Annex III):

- 2 were doing the distribution of solar lanterns in Cameroon (TOTAL

Cameroon and Light for All Cameroon)

- 1 was selling a completely different product, the Nuru Light that is a system

of lights mechanically charged with a pedal

- 1 was just an interested NGO (Center for Environment and Development)

and not really selling pico-PV products

- 1 (Light for All Production) is planning to assemble pico-PV products locally

- The 3 others were mostly doing Solar Home Systems14 (SHS)

Group 3 actors

Group 3 actors are divided in 2 categories:

- Retailers: They buy wholesale any product from any Group 2 actor to resell

back to end users.

- Sales points: They represent or are local subsidiaries of Group 2 actors and

sell on their behalf to end users or Retailers.

These actors should be the most important in the market as they are closest to end

users (Group 4). But as said before, the market is still not well developed and the

research team found out that many Group 2 actors nowadays are selling their

13

D.light is a pico-PV producer, one of the largest in the world. In Cameroon, TOTAL is distributing 2 types of d.light products. 14

SHS are large PV systems that can be installed to power a house or group of houses and apart from lighting can run large devices like TV and Fridge, depending on the size.

25

products directly to end users. TOTAL for instance is placing its products in different

petrol stations (that by the way are not in off-grid area) and selling directly to end

users.

To date, there are virtually no well trained Group 3 actors, ready to take over the

distribution. Small shop keepers and kerosene sellers in rural area are continuously

selling their kerosene lamps and kerosene, and battery torches and have not been

approached yet to try selling pico-PV instead. GIZ Cameroon has started a program

to provide selected Group 3 actors with technical and management skills to sell

pico-PV products in off-grid area. Maybe there are similar programs going one, but

all are very new in the market and will need to be encouraged and supported.

Group 4 actors

They are end users and need enough incentive to buy the product, but at the same

time need training and monitoring to be able to use the products to the length of

their entire lifetime. Their satisfaction does not come just after buying the product,

but rather later after the investment is paid back and the product is still functioning

perfectly.

Group 4 are normally households, end users. But during the survey and focus group

meetings, it came out many times that one of the strategies is to sell products to

groups, having the group as a moral guarantee. The acquisition cost of pico-PV

products is high and many households in rural area cannot afford this in one

installment. A group of household can come together and take small loans to buy

solar lanterns to group members one after another and payback the loans in small

installments. This strategy will work better than giving loans to individual

households.

The Enabling Environment According to Heillin and Meijer, “The enabling environment consists of the critical

factors and trends that are shaping the value chain environment and operating

conditions, but may be amenable to change. These “enabling environment” factors

are generated by structures (national and local authorities, research agencies etc.),

and institutions (policies, regulations and practices) that are beyond the direct

control of economic actors in the value chain”

For the market of pico-PV in Cameroon, the following factors can significantly

enable the environment:

- Public awareness: During the research, it was clear people in rural area

most of the time have not even heard of the solar lanterns. Without their

26

understanding of this alternative lighting and phone recharging solutions,

nothing will ever happen in the market. The public awareness can be done

by NGOs and development agencies through information campaign and

demonstrations. But for profit actors have to continuously advertize their

products.

- Quality control of products entering and traded in Cameroon. Pico-PV

products will successfully and sustainably enter the market if end users are

satisfied by the quality that is promised to them. The Cameroon National

Agency for Norms and Standards (ANOR) has to take the lead in certifying

the quality of products entering Cameroon. ANOR to date does not yet have

a department responsible for the certification of pico-PV products. What is

used in other African countries mostly is the World Bank Lighting Africa

certification, which is the highest certification available for the African

market. ANOR could request all products entering Cameroon to have that

World Bank (WB) certification and set up a complementary certification

procedure for locally assembled products that can find the cost of WB

certification very high.

- Research: The habits, cultural beliefs and economic development in

Cameroon are different from one region to others. The demand, adoption

and adaptation of different regions to pico-PV products might vary and only

good and regular researches can help different actors adapt to the market

and offer well suited products to different regions. The Ministry of Scientific

Research and Innovation (MINRESI) and the National Institute of Statistics

(NIS) are well equipped to do such researches. The NIS does permanent

household surveys like the National Household Survey (ECAM) but has not

yet done detailed surveys specific to rural lighting.

- Business environment improvement: The business environment of

Cameroon needs to be significantly improved to attract foreign investors

interested in the pico-PV sectors. In countries like Kenya and Madagascar,

large pico-PV producers like Barefoot15 power are distributing directly their

products in the market, because the business environment is clear and

15

Barefoot power is a pico-PV lantern producers bearing its name

27

predictable. Cameroon is ranked 161 by World Bank Doing Business out of

185 countries, a very poor ranking to easily attract investors.

- Institutional support: The support of institutions is very important to enable

the business environment. For Cameroon, the following institutions are of

prime importance for the development of pico-PV market:

o The Ministry of Water Resources and Energy (MINEE) can set up the

pace in the market by continuously doing its work of formulating

policy and regulations and providing administrative and technical

oversight of the energy sector in general and of the pico-PV market

in particular. The MINEE should be the central institution overlooking

the work of all other institutions involved in the development of the

pico-PV market in Cameroon.

o The Rural Electrification Agency (AER): The AER promote and

implement rural electrification in Cameroon. It also manages the

Rural Energy Fund (FER). The Director of AER indicated during the

research that the FER is not limited to only electrification by can also

accept innovative projects or programs for lighting in rural area of

Cameroon, a good chance for pico-PV, since the fund is 100% grant.

To date, to the knowledge of the research team, no pico-PV

programs has been funded already, but some promising applications

are being studied by the FER.

o The Ministry of Finance (MINFI): The cost of acquisition of pico-PV is

still relatively high for poor households. The MINFI has introduced in

2012 a levy on the Value Added Tax (VAT) on the importation of

solar and wind products in Cameroon. This is 19.25% subsidy that

can be a good boost for the penetration of pico-PV products in

Cameroon.

Service providers For the value chain to be the most effective possible, actors forming the chain have

to be supported by service providers (also called “business and extension services”)

from other enterprises and support organization according to Heillin and Meijer.

These service providers for the market of pico-PV in Cameroon include:

- Financial services, through banks and MFIs. Bank can support Group 2

actors that present bankable business plan in ordering quality products and

28

making those available to the market. MFIs will support Group 3 actors to

set up their businesses and trade down pico-PV products to end users.

- Training and capacity building: For Group 3 actors to exist and take over the

national distribution of pico-PV products, there is a strong need of training on

technical and managerial skills. With a good training, they will understand

the needs of end users and easily negotiate their contracts with Group 2

actors to have encouraging margin and good quality and available products.

Also, some Group 2 actors could be trained to know how to develop good

strategies for their development. For instance, what type of products to

order, which markets to target, how to approach banks with sound business

plans and negotiate investments… all these questions are still unclear to

some of these actors met during the research. In Cameroon, the Ministry of

Professional Training (MINFOP) through different institutions is well

equipped to train Group 2 actors whilst the Ministry of Small and Medium

Size Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft (MINPMEESA) can train

Group 3 actors.

- SME support: Apart from training, the MINPMEESA can install and even

support the development of Group 3 actors. This ministry has special

programs to support the development of SMEs that Group 3 actors can

benefit.

The Full Market Map After analyzing different layers of the market map as suggested by Heillin and

Meijer, the full market map of pico-PV in Cameroon can be drawn with all the 3

inter-linked components. The Enabling Environment is on top of the value chain and

influence the whole chain, while Services Providers offer their services to specific

chains:

29

Lantern

producers

Importers

Distributors

Retailers

Sales points

Spare

parts

producers

Spare

parts

producer

s Assemblers

Group of

users

Individual

users

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

Value Chain

Enabling

Environment Public Awareness

Quality Control (ANOR)

Business environment improvement

Research (MINRESI/NIS

)

MINFI AER

MINEE

Support Services Banks MFIs MINFOP MINPMEESA

30

SWOT Analysis of pico-PV market in Cameroon

Strengths # Strength How to best use the strength

1 Prices of solar lanterns have gone down tremendously in the international market and there are more and more pico-PV lantern producers

This is automatically increasing the demand because pricing have gone down to reach almost all poor households in Cameroon.

2 There is VAT levy (19.25%) on solar products entering Cameroon

This has certainly reduced the price of lanterns. All Group 2 actors met during the research knew about this levy, which shows their interest in developing the market

3 There is a better understanding of pico-PV in Cameroon

Things are going in the right direction, but there is a need to capitalize on that and continue the sensitization

4 Many rural lighting projects using solar lanterns are successfully going around the world. That show the product is demanded and household that adopt it are satisfied if rightly trained on the use.

We can learn the strategies from success stories and adopt in the case of Cameroon. Also, the success in other countries will be echoed in Cameroon and begin/continue and facilitate the sensitization that is dearly needed for people to understand the necessity of adopting solar lighting

Weaknesses # Weakness How to manage the weakness

1 Acquisition costs of solar lanterns are still high for BoPs in Cameroon

BoPs in Cameroon are buying mobile phones much more expensive than solar lanterns. If there is a strong awareness and solar lanterns are available, they will buy them.

2 MFIs and other financial institutions do not yet support the development of the market and this is a huge barrier to the development of solar market. Group 2 people needs capital to be able to order good products and make economy of scales, Group 3 needs small financial products and support to set up their businesses, train themselves and start running.

There is a need to train actors on how to best approach investors, but at the same time there is a need to train financial institutions on the benefit (financial and social) they will get by investing in the market.

3 The market of rural lighting in Cameroon is still very complex and not yet understood

This is a strong weakness as to enter the market important players will want to have good understanding of the market. Researches like this are very helpful

4 Transportation to rural and remote areas is very difficult and will increase prices of solar lanterns for poorer population. Many Group 2 actors surveyed already indicated their pricing differences per region (to include transportation costs), which is rather normal for business.

31

Opportunities # Opportunity How to best use the opportunity

1 Around 4 millions kerosene lamps in use in Cameroon

The potential for market development is there and untapped. More actors are needed and each will get a good share of the market

2 Kerosene continues to be very expensive in the Cameroon market

Dedicated training and sensitization of end user on the benefit they get by adopting solar lanterns have to be done.

3 The institutional framework in Cameroon is becoming more and more favorable to investors

It’s important to find favorable texts and make them available to all interested actors

4 The price of kerosene is subsidized by more than 50% by the government of Cameroon. The state will save a lot of money when kerosene lamps are replaced

The government of Cameroon has been thinking for sometime on how to stop subsidizing kerosene and other petroleum products. If the opportunity of bringing solar lanterns to the market is rightly presented to the government, then it will surely support the initiative.

Threats # Threat How to manage the threat

1 Entrance of low quality lighting products in the market

The quality control has to be set up and strictly work in avoiding the entrance of low quality products into the market

2 Lack of receptiveness of new products. People are so used to kerosene lamps they do not think of getting lighting from any other mean.

Sensitization has to go on continuously supported by pilot projects.

3 Increase rate of electrification. This is a good threat as there is a strong need of electrification in the whole country. But this will not happen before decades.

Investors entering the market now will have good return on investment before the electrification rate becomes a real problem

16.

16

A scenario from the government shows that electrification rate will reach only 60% in rural area by 2025 (Lighting Africa, 2013)

32

Conclusions and strategies to improving the market of pico-PV

systems in Cameroon

Conclusions Cameroon is a Sub-Saharan African country with around 10 million inhabitants not

having access to grid electricity. These inhabitants rely mostly on wick-based

kerosene lanterns for lighting (72% according to this research) and battery torches

(23% according to this research). Kerosene lanterns are known to be expensive and

unhealthy for households, but so far has been the solution used for lighting for

about 2 billion people all over the world.

Besides lighting, in the last 10 years the market of telecommunication has grown

bigger and faster in rural area of Cameroon as it’s the trend all over Africa. This

research has found out that on average each household possesses 1.36 mobile

phones that are recharged 2.28 times per week.

The existing lighting means and the use of mobile phones need recurring costs to

poor households:

- Kerosene lanterns, after their purchase, need – apart from small accessories

like glass and wick – mostly kerosene to be purchase on regular basis to

provide light to households. This research has found out that on average

each household possesses 2.3 kerosene lanterns and purchase a liter of

kerosene per week. All costs included (acquisition of lamps, accessories and

kerosene), a household spends 35 719 FCFA per year for lighting.

- Battery torches, after their purchase need batteries regularly to provide light.

Average household using battery torches surveyed for this research

possesses 2 torches that last only 3 months each and by every other week a

pair of battery for each torch. All costs together, a household spends 22 695

FCFA per year for using battery torches for lighting

- Recharging phones per household cost 15 555 per year, with each phone

recharging 2.28 times per week at 72.5 FCFA per time on average.

Added together, all off-grid households of Cameroon spend per year more than 80

billion FCFA for purchasing kerosene lanterns and kerosene, battery torches and

batteries and for recharging their phones.

In the international market, traditional means for lighting and phone recharging are

being replaced by pico-PV lanterns. The pico-PV lanterns are entering the

33

Cameroon market in different size and prices. This research has selected the three

most available and practical in the market of Cameroon and called them:

- Small pico-PV costing 5 500 FCFA to end user

- Medium pico-PV at the price of 15 000 FCFA

- Large pico-PV sold at 35 000 FCFA

Beside the pico-PV lanterns, this research has found in the Cameroon market the

so-called Nuru Light, which a light with internal battery that is charged by a pedal

called PowerCycle.

These alternative technologies are more practical and cheaper than kerosene

lanterns and battery torches. If adopted by the whole off-grid population, the total

costs of using the Medium pico-PV (which is the best alternative in terms of costs

against services provided) will be 27.7 billion FCFA, more than 50 billion cheaper

than the traditional kerosene lanterns and battery torches.

Solar lanterns are however struggling to successfully enter the Cameroon market.

To find barriers infringing the development of the market of solar lanterns in

Cameroon and propose ways of making that market work, we have conducted a

Market Map using the “Guidelines for Value Chain Analysis” of Hellin and Meijer

(2006) methodology to depict value chain actors (and drew the value chain) and

grouped actors in 4 categories, propose en enabling environment (infrastructure

and policies that shape the market environment) and set of service providers

(services that support the value chain operations).

A full Market Map has been presented – as a result of the analysis done – showing

different actors of the value chain and different bodies and organizations around the

value chain actors that need to need to be created and improved to facilitate the

flow of solar lanterns from one end of the chain – represented by technology

providers – to the other end – representing end users.

Key strategies to improve the market For the market to be fully operational and benefit poor households, several

strategies have to be put in place at each level of the value chain.

Group 1 actors

Group 1 actors are out of Cameroon. They follow the worldwide trend in solar

development and design products and make them available to the market.

34

They have their business strategies; decide which products to design for which

countries. They can in a sense not be influenced by the need of Cameroon alone,

because the world market is extremely high with over 2 billion kerosene lamps that

can be substituted by pico-PV systems.

Group 2 actors

The success of this group of actors depends on:

1. How to order best quality products

2. What type of products to order and why:

a. Order and sell finished product?

b. Order parts and assemble locally?

3. What business models to use

a. Have selling points in different parts of the country?

b. Sell to any retailer and go?

c. Sell directly to end users

4. How to secure financing from banks and other financing institutions?

# Success depend on:

Comments/Influence on the business

Strategy

1 Quality product The quality is very important for the smooth development of the market

Set up a department in ANOR responsible for certification of products entering Cameroon market

2 Type of products (finished or local assembly)

The quality of finished product might be better, but local assembly will likely reduce costs (if economy of scales), create local jobs and offer tailored products to end users, but then more management will be needed

- Training and support of these actors to determine best market strategy for type of products.

3 Business models Direct sales will not bring substantial revenues, as the market coverage will be low. Selling through partners will ensure the after sales service is well done, but the management costs will soar. Selling to any buyer will reduce management costs, but there won’t be any insurance on the services end users get.

- Support these actors on the selection of business model;

- Training of Group 3 on sales skills and better after sales services

4 Financing from banks

There is a need of getting financing. Many Group 2 actors indicated financing was their main concern.

- Sensitize banks and financial institutions on the benefits to invest in the market

- Support these actors in having bankable business plans

- Training in the financing negotiations with investors

35

Group 3 actors

The success of this group of actors will depend on:

1. How to negotiate contracts with Group 2 actors?

i. Be a selling point?

ii. Be a free retailer and sell different products available in the market?

2. Training to train end users on the utilization of products

i. What are after sales services to offer

ii. How to manage the guarantee offered to customers?

3. Training in communication and selling of pico-PV equipments and further

training in basic accounting and management

i. How to get trained by MINFOP or MINPMEESA?

ii. How to get trained by development agencies and NGOs

4. How to work with MFIs to design financial products for households?

# Issue Influence on the business/comments

Strategy

1 Contractual agreement (when necessary) with group 2

Being a selling point make sure good quality products are received from the partner, but can limit market coverage if partner does not have a sound range of different products. Selling different products make management difficult.

Dedicated training Support in designing a good strategy

2 Technical training

Good after sales service is necessary

Constant training on technical aspects of (new) products Training of end users to facilitate the work of Group 3 actors

3 Training in management

Apart from technical aspects, it’s important the SME owners (Group 3) have basic accounting and management skills to be able to run their businesses

- Training in management and basic accounting

4 Financing from MFIs

Since the products are (still) very expensive for poor households, it’s important to provide them with financial facilities and MFIs can play a good role in that

- Collaborate with MFIs (and cooperative) to develop products for the market

- Train Group 3 in understanding and managing the financial products

- Train households in understanding the financial products and acquiring those

Group 4 actors

They are the final beneficiaries of all actions along the value chain. The key for

them is the sensitization. Solar products are cheaper, practical to use, healthier,

pose no risk of fire and protect the environment compared to kerosene lanterns. But

the market of pico-PV is still developing in Cameroon and poor and remote

36

household are not yet aware neither of the pico-PV systems nor of the benefit the

latter can bring.

It is important for each actor including government, local and traditional authorities

to be involved in a continuous sensitization of households.

The issue of subsidy has been raised during the research and also in literature.

Many people still argue that the acquisition costs of solar lanterns is high, making it

a main barrier to the entrance of those products in the off grid market of Cameroon.

The government of Cameroon however is already subsidizing the pico-PV lanterns

through the VAT levy on all imported solar and wind equipments entering

Cameroon. This is surely what is making the Medium pico-PV lantern – than can

provide light and recharge mobile phones – as described in this report costing 15

500 FCFA. This research has found out that each family surveyed is having on

average 1.36 phones and paying per year more than 15 000 FCFA just to recharge

the phones. This is not counting the costs for buying the phones and airtime to

make calls. Cheapest and acceptable phones in the market cost at least 10 000

FCFA and many even afford fancy phones far expensive than this.

The research team thinks there is no need to subsidize further pico-PV lanterns, but

rather to invest in sensitization and different trainings as described in this report.

The market will develop if households understand the importance of using these

products and have good quality available to them.

# Issue Influence on the business/comments

Strategy

1 Sensitization/awareness raising

Many households do not adopt solar lanterns because they ignore the benefits of using it

Permanent sensitization by all actors (governmental institutions, NGOs, development agencies, private sectors, etc.)

37

Key recommendations to SNV for their implication in the

development of the market of pico-PV lanterns in Cameroon The previous chapter presented different strategies to improve the market of

alternative lighting and phone recharges means in Cameroon that will replace

existing expensive and unpractical wick-based kerosene lanterns and battery

torches and reduce time and costs that off-grid households spend for recharging

their phones.

From these different strategies, the research team has selected what SNV can do

based mostly on the fact that SNV does not really directly implement projects, but

rather build capacities of local so that the latter can themselves sustainably solve

their problems. The implication of SNV in different projects is always limited in time

and it’s important that:

- Their assignment is clear and doable in a defined period of time

- Their action is as efficient and effective as possible and can bring

quantifiable changes in the market

Keeping these 2 criteria in mind, the research team has looked at the three parts of

the Market Map to determine what SNV can do to improve the market.

Implication of SNV on the Enabling Environment of the Market Map The development of the market of pico-PV in Cameroon can go smoothly if there is

an Enabling Environment as described in the Market Map. Many institutions and

actions make the environment enable. The table below presents the selection of the

implication of SNV to enable the environment for the market development of pico-

PV in Cameroon:

Enabling action/institution

Description Direct implication of SNV?

Public awareness

Raising awareness is something that needs to be done every day by all actors involved. Since the market is developed using business approach, each actor will see the importance of raising awareness. Also, the government and NGOs can do this better than anyone else

No, but public awareness will be put in the training package for Group 3 actors

Quality Control (ANOR)

The quality of products entering the market is very important. ANOR exists already and can be trained by SNV to set up a department for control and certification of pico-PV products before they enter the market

Yes

MINEE/AER MINEE and AER can create a better enabling environment and put in place programs that will instill the market of pico-PV. To do that, the SNV intervention is not really necessary and crucial.

No

38

Business environment improvement

The overall improvement in the business environment of Cameroon is a task for the government

No

MINFI The implication of MINFI can mostly be done through introduction of subsidy. The research team however said there is no need to further subsidize the market directly.

No

Research (MINRESI/NIS)

The development of the market has to be supported by credible information, data and analysis that mostly Group 1 and Group 2 actors can use to know what type of products to supply the market with. SNV can permanently hire local consultants to fuel the market with useful research that will further support the market development

Yes

Implication of SNV on the Support Services Support Service

Comments Direct implication of SNV?

MINFOP/MINPMEESA

These 2 government agencies have special programs dedicated to training and installing SMEs. But for a fast and efficient train, SNV can work directly with Group 3 actors

No

Banks Banks will be interesting for large Group 2 actors who once they understood the benefit they can get from investing in the field of pico-PV will not need any further support from SNV in negotiating with banks.

No

MFIs The acquisition cost of pico-PV lanterns is still high for some households. SNV can work together with Group 3 actors and MFIs to develop products that will help households get lights and pay by installments to MFIs

Yes

Implication of SNV on the Value Chain Value Chain Comments Direct implication

of SNV?

Group 1 These are international big players in the market of pico-PV and do not need SNV’s help

No

Group 2 The market is developing in the for-profit direction, which is perfect. All Group 2 actors inventoried understand this and will know how to develop their strategies if they see a good market developing downstream and households understanding and demanding pico-PV lanterns

No

Group 3 The successful development of the market as discussed in the report depends on existing and well trained Group 3 actors. They are the closest to end users and:

- Understand their need - Can rapidly do maintenance if well trained - Can together with end users negotiate

terms with MFIs - Know end users and can develop good

strategies to raise awareness of the end users

Yes

39

It’s important for SNV to set up programs for selecting and training Group 3 actors.

Group 4 The market is large and it’s impossible and inefficient to work directly with individual households. Only local consultant hired by SNV to do research in the market could work directly with households for data collection.

No

Summing up, the role of SNV in the development of pico-PV market in Cameroon

and the implication its intervention will have is represented in the figure below:

With the implication of SNV, the market of pico-PV will rapidly develop and, if

government and other development agencies participate to the market

development, before 2020 almost all off-grid inhabitants of Cameroon will have

access to clean lighting.

40

Brief review of existing studies on rural lighting

Cameroon specific studies 1. Lighting Africa Policy Report Note – Cameroon

Year published 2012

Published by World Bank Lighting Africa program

Interesting chapters The Whole document

Topics discussed i. Estimation of the off-grid market in Cameroon

ii. Proposes policy and institutional environment necessary

for the development of off-grid market in Cameroon

iii. Gives key recommendations to improving the market

Availability Available online (PDF)

Comments Recommendable study, but important to contact the authors

to find out research methods

2. Result of survey conducted by Rainbow Environment in 20 villages and 189

households

Year published 2010

Published by Rainbow environment consult

Interesting chapters The Whole document

Topics discussed i. Primary and secondary lighting means

ii. Spending on kerosene

iii. Costs of kerosene lamps

iv. Willingness to pay for solar lanterns

Availability Word and Powerpoint summary of results available on the

website www.light4allcameroun.org

Comments Study lack consistency, not recommendable

3. Research by Total Cameroon

Year published Not yet available

Published by Total Cameroon under the program Total Access To Solar

Interesting chapters Not known

Topics discussed Research still ongoing

Availability Not known

Comments Will be interesting to see the result of this study if Total

discloses it.

41

Non-Cameroon specific studies These studies, though objectively selected to serve the purpose of further

researches on the issue in Cameroon do represent only a very small share of

thousands of existing studies available online in the issue of pico-PV in the world.

4. The true cost of Kerosene in rural area of Africa

Year published 2012

Published by World Bank Lighting Africa program

Interesting chapters Whole document

Topics discussed Increase in kerosene price from urban to rural area

Availability Available online on www.lightingafrica.org

Comments Very interesting study to extrapolate on the kerosene prices in

far rural area of Cameroon

5. Design, Development and Marketing of Solar Lanterns

Year published Unknown

Published by Kieron Crawley, Ray Holland, Stephen Gitonga

Interesting chapters The Whole document

Topics discussed i. Difficulties to develop solar lanterns in developing

countries

Availability Available online at https://practicalaction.org/text/technical-

information-service/text/print/docs/energy/solar.pdf

Comments Good study for actors that would like to produce lanterns

locally

6. Access to Energy for the Base of the Pyramid

Year published 2009

Published by Hystra with the support of GDF-SUEZ, Schneider Electric and

TOTAL

Interesting chapters i. Chap 4.2: Providing mass market devices to cover basic

needs

ii. Chap 4.4: Rural cooperatives: providing energy and

income generation opportunities simultaneously

iii. Chap 4.5: Financing: Facilitating the development of

social enterprises

iv. Chap 5: Recommendations

42

Topics discussed A series of success stories and strategies used around the

world to provide clean energy to households

The book insists that the good technology is not the solution,

it’s rather have good entrepreneurs, better cooperation

between all links of the distribution chain that will make clean

energy available to BoP

Availability Available online on the website of www.hystra.com

Comments Interesting to learn, adopt and adapt some strategies

presented there. The pilot project can learn a lot from

examples given in this report.

7. What difference can a pico-PV system make

Year published 2010

Published by GTZ (actual GIZ)

Interesting chapters Whole document with more focus on 7: Policy and Market

Topics discussed i.

Availability Available on line at:

http://www.giz.de/Themen/en/dokumente/giz2011-en-energy-

news17-march.pdf

Comments Very interesting study, especially the policy

recommendations;

8. Small Scale CDM Methodology AMS-III.AR

Year published 2012

Published by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Interesting chapters The Whole document

Topics discussed i. Applicability of the methodology

ii. Baseline description and estimation of greenhouse gas

emissions reduction

Availability Available on the website www.cdm.unfccc.int

Comments Interesting for large players that maybe interested to get carbon

finance revenue. Barefoot for example just registered a CDM

projects in Kenya as Program of Activities and will likely at some

other countries in the program.

43

Annex I: List of surveyed households and their villages Names and

surnames Phone Division Subdivision Village

1 Bitanga Jeannot 74 62 16 20 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

2 Bara Albert 75 36 52 10 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

3 Ntelezamb Hélène - Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

4 Beboum Jean - Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

5 Doua Valery 99 75 60 52 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

6 Djopal Beda Samuel - Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

7 Mbrambi Doko Rostand

- Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

8 Dalailo Ousmanou - Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

9 Ayindi Jacqueline - Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

10 Nganman Henri 98 44 95 22 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

11 Nadine Anoumba Abondo

- Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

12 Bebey Justine - Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

13 Massiké Symphirien 99 41 95 63 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

14 Narmaye Jean 73 15 92 79 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

15 Mbobelé Gaetan 93 72 74 93 Est Lom et Djerem Adinkol

16 Ibrahima - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

17 Aguimilack Sali - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

18 Hamadou Ousmane - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

19 Abougan Aliman - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

20 Yao Ba Bimout - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

21 Amadjoda - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

22 Bouba 74 73 48 20 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

23 Toukou Somaka 76 21 85 93 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

24 Saadou 78 15 09 31 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

25 Bachirou Robert 76 95 40 19 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

26 Mina Abounabi - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

27 Mamoudou Jean Paul

- Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

28 Moussa Mama - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

29 Hamadjam - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

30 Yakoubou 75 65 02 28 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

31 Nikafa - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

32 Salatou Alioum 76 09 19 77 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

33 Issa Sali - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

34 Sadjo - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

35 Massai - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

36 Sali Yogouda 99 74 68 66 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

37 Kari Ousmanou - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

38 Mama - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

39 Adamou - Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

44

40 Abdou Alioum 96 67 96 12 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

41 Hamaoua 71 43 49 75 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

42 Bachirou 95 25 40 12 Extrême Nord Diamaré Beguelé

43 Solomon Tawin 77 43 66 73 North West Mezam Bossah

44 Clarisse Tamunang - North West Mezam Bossah

45 Moufou Madelaine - North West Mezam Bossah

46 Stanley - North West Mezam Bossah

47 Queen 78 49 63 37 North West Mezam Bossah

48 Agwé Rigobert 73 20 60 50 North West Mezam Bossah

49 Felicia 75 61 55 91 North West Mezam Bossah

50 Kameni - North West Mezam Bossah

51 Tebo Samuel - North West Mezam Bossah

52 Linus Neba 75 61 09 93 North West Mezam Bossah

53 Nelson 79 12 34 53 North West Mezam Bossah

54 Nah Melonie 95 70 89 68 North West Mezam Bossah

55 Linda Tah - North West Mezam Bossah

56 Lafé Georges 94 71 43 54 North West Mezam Bossah

57 Ndozeng Michel - Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

58 Naman Raymond - Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

59 Amougou Robert - Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

60 Gpop Angeline 73 18 23 21 Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

61 Bolle Jean Christian - Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

62 Ndengue Ndanga Yohana

- Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

63 Mbolè Mbarbe Ambroise

- Est Lom et Djerem Ekombitié

64 Fadimata - Extrême Nord Diamaré Goubewo

65 Goliké Pierre 93 28 94 04 Est Lom et Djerem Koumé Goffi

66 Madé - Est Lom et Djerem Koumé Goffi

67 Ketaré Gaston - Est Lom et Djerem Koumé Goffi

68 Metsama Geremie - Est Lom et Djerem Koumé Goffi

69 Souleymanou - Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

70 Louti - Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

71 Goi-Goi Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

72 Saibou Abdoulaye 97 69 05 26 Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

73 Abilékélé - Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

74 Haman - Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

75 Lalde - Extrême Nord Diamaré Mambang

45

Annex II: List of focus group meetings and attendees Maroua (Dec. 3, 2012)

Ndongsok Durando

S2 Services Directeur Général 99 00 80 27 / 79 52 61 20

d.ndongsok@s2-gmbh.com

Houdini Jean Claude Bouba

S2 Services Stagiaire 96 86 66 08 / 73 10 77 92

chjc1986@yahoo.fr

Haoua Fanta Goggo Petel

MINPMEESA Chef service Economie Sociale REP DR MINPMEESAEN

94 59 75 13 f.haoua@gmail.com

Souleymanou Yero

CAR S.G 97 76 04 04

Bukam kamsen Solkamtech DG 73 32 50 33 s.bukam@yahoo.fr

Tchaya Guy Bertrand

Institut Superior Sahel

Enseignant 99 51 12 94 tchayaguy@yahoo.com

Sali Ahmadou COPRESSA Responsable Administratif financier

99 79 95 25 copressa@yahoo.fr/Sali_Ahmadou@yahoo.fr

Hara Taidi PRODEBALT Coordonnateur 99 52 49 91 harataidi@yahoo.fr

Leubou Mohto Rodrigue

MINEE Maintenancier Informatique

99 23 23 16 / 33 08 49 13

rodriguemohto@yahoo.fr

Kilbat Jean CTA Directeur 99 62 66 22 kilbatjean@yahoo.fr

Mme YOUNOUSSOU REHANA

MINFI chef service solde et pensions

99 65 26 51 / 74 98 36 36

rehana112002@yahoo.fr

Platini MEVA'A MINEPDED / EN

chef de service CPM

94 79 97 87 platinimevaa@yahoo.com

Bertoua (Dec. 7, 2012)

Ndongsok Durando

S2 Services Directeur Général d.ndongsok@s2-gmbh.com

Koulbout David CRRI-EST Chef de Centre koulboutdavid@yahoo.fr

Elizabeth Obase

MINPROFF Service des Affaires Générales

Obaseusd@yahoo.com

Aloma Martin Bienvenue

DRPMEESA/EST

Délégué 99 70 85 alomabien@yahoo.fr

Benamo Mireille

Rep. Del. MINEPDED

Mme Zebsa Mireille

CRRI-EST Chef Service R. SCTFQ

99 56 96 93 mireille.zebsa@yahoo.fr

Djiokeng Pierre Marie

AMAF /OC Chef d'antenne 77 93 41 55 pdjiokeng@yahoo.fr

Yaya Bouba CREADEV Consultant 97 98 66 82

Mme Mpouam Chantal

Restitute GIC Enseignante 99 77 69 86 / 96 25 13

46

60

Moampea M. Fernande

GIC/ UNITE DYNAMIQUE

Délégué GIC/ UNITE DYNAMIQUE

70 91 67 22 / 99 96 22 91

fmoampea@yahoo.com

Mme Zang Cécile

GIC Eveil Mbang

Trèsorière

Mme Epone Edith

GIC Bafamba Mbang

membre

Ekanga Ambroise

ASS. LA VIE+Doumé

président 96 72 47 35 / 70 56 86 20

ambroiseekanga@yahoo.fr

Menkolou Jean Hilaire

GIC mère Poule

délégué 74 32 75 56

Nkene Celestine

STEP délégué 99 43 53 47 / 70 06 94 27

moandjel2002@yahoo.fr

Penda Eric ONE President 74 57 99 94 / 96 91 76 77

pendaeric@yahoo.fr

Yaoundé (Dec. 11, 2012)

Ndongsok Durando

S2 Services Directeur Général 99 00 80 27/ 79 52 61 20

d.ndongsok@s2-gmbh.com

Joseph OLINGA

S2 Services Project Manager 96 62 02 02 j.olinga@s2-gmbh.com

Batiiabene Félix

INSTRUMELEC

Area sale Manager

99 92 54 41 felixbatiabene@yahoo.fr

Régis Priso CED Project Manager 99 67 63 44 longelapriso@yahoo.fr

Ebanda Jean Baptist

Energies renouvelable du Cameroon

Représentant 22230160 alima@energierenouvelablecameroun.com

Jean Eric Ndi Systemes photovoltatic

Directeur 70042100 spv_cameroun@yahoo.fr

Jamil Shariff SNV RE coordinator jshariff@snvworld.org

Constant Bernard

BERCOTECH

Promoteur 79 39 06 61 / 97 21 14 91

consbernard@yahoo.fr

Bamenda (Dec. 18, 2012)

Ndongsok Durando

S2 Services Directeur Général 99 00 80 27 / 79 52 61 20

d.ndongsok@s2-gmbh.com

Joseph OLINGA

S2 Services Project Manager 96 62 02 02 j.olinga@s2-gmbh.com

Momo Fani S2 Services Intern 97 89 80 82 robertefani@yahoo.fr

Fung Fidelis. K MINEPDED Representing RD MINE

74 03 13 70 fingfideliskah@yahoo.fr

47

Nsahdzeyuf Jude Leh

GREENERY CEO 77 68 55 14 / 94 71 88 94

njudeleh@yahoo.fr

Ngoupayou Chouaibou

MINPMEESA Representant DR MINPMEESA

70 29 69 94 chouaiboungoupayou@yahoo.fr

Essola Pouline C.

MINEE Representation OFRD MINEE-NW

75 12 55 02 essolpauline@yahoo.fr

Gisèla Berinyny

SHUMAS Programs coordinator

77 75 56 30

Asanji Magdalen

MBOSCUDA Field Staf Womens Program

75 72 62 65

Judy Ngweh Abong

MINPROFF R.D. 77 45 62 29 mamijudi@yahoo.co.uk

Tobias Verla INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL REFORMARTION

REPRESENTATIVE

74 84 94 65

48

Annex III: Potential group 2 actors that supported the research Company Products Contact

person Tel/email

1 Center for Environment and Development

No specific product. NGO interested in the market

Regis Priso Essawe

74148151 longelapriso@yahoo.fr

2 BERCOTECH Sarl

SHS Constant Bernard

97211491 bercotech@bercotech.fr

3 Light 4 All Cameroon

Association supporting its member in the distribution of any solar lighting product

Dr. Maxime Kamdem Kamdem

99968833 Kamdem_maxime@yahoo.fr

4 Light 4 All Production SA

Local assembly of pico-PV products

Henk Hoefsloot

Henk.hoefsloot@upcmail.nl

5 S2 Services Sarl Nuru technology Hervé Azemtsa

97475493 h.azemtsa@s2-gmbh.com

6 SOLKAMTECH SHS Serge Bukam Kamseu

bukamserge@yahoo.fr

7 Systeme Photovoltaic

SHS Jean Eric Ndi 70042100 Spv_cameroun@yahoo.fr

8 Total Cameroon d.light products Regine Epee 99912207 Regine.epee@total.cm