What Rwanda can teach us about supporting businesses with clean energy

Hundreds of people in Rwanda’s refugee camps and surrounding host communities are building more resilient livelihoods through solar-powered businesses.

Now, the project behind that success is providing valuable lessons that could help improve future programmes.

As the work comes to an end, the experiences of entrepreneurs, suppliers and project partners are helping shape future renewable energy initiatives by showing what worked, what didn’t and where programmes can be improved.

Robert Mutalindwa, Humanitarian Productive Use of Renewable Energy Project Manager, said:

“These lessons go beyond one project. They give us practical evidence on how to better support entrepreneurs to adopt renewable energy, grow their businesses and improve their incomes.”

The initiative has already delivered:

• Nearly 300 renewable energy appliances installed
• Nearly 300 entrepreneurs supported to start or grow their businesses
• More than 100 new jobs created in refugee camps and surrounding host communities
• An average 40% increase in sales for supported entrepreneurs
• More than half (56%) of supported businesses are women-led
• Nearly nine in 10 (89%) appliances financed through a pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) model

To achieve these results, the work was delivered across the Mahama, Kiziba and Nyabiheke refugee camps and surrounding host communities in Rwanda between 2024 and 2026. By providing subsidised access to solar-powered refrigerators, freezers, grain mills, sewing machines, barber kits and other business equipment, it helped entrepreneurs start or expand businesses and improve their incomes.

What we learned

The experience showed that supporting entrepreneurs with clean energy is about much more than providing technology. From choosing the right products to designing finance that works for local communities, the project highlighted several ways future programmes can deliver even greater impact.

• One lesson was the importance of making sure the right products are available. While appliances such as solar-powered refrigerators and grain mills are becoming more common, newer technologies can be harder to source. Combined with shipping delays, customs procedures and financing arrangements, this can slow down delivery and affect implementation.
• The initiative also found that affordable technology must meet local needs. Fixed appliance bundles did not always reflect what entrepreneurs wanted, with many needing only specific equipment rather than a full package. Some products also had to be adapted to local markets. For example, grain mills sourced from Kenya were modified after they did not initially produce the fine maize flour preferred by customers in Rwanda.
• Another lesson was that technology alone is not enough. Entrepreneurs needed practical training to understand how to use and maintain their appliances, including managing expectations around battery performance and PAYGO payment systems. Ongoing support helped users make the most of their investment and build confidence in the new technology.
• The programme also highlighted the importance of designing finance around people’s everyday lives. While subsidised appliances made renewable energy more accessible, experience showed that not every entrepreneur needed the same level of financial support. Future programmes could achieve greater impact by offering more tailored finance and subsidy models that reflect both business needs and how communities already save, borrow and invest.

For entrepreneurs like Nadine Umutoni, who runs a restaurant and shop in Mahama Refugee Camp, the project has helped create new opportunities for the future.

“I feel the future will be good. You can’t just sit and expect the future to be good; you have to work hard and work with a goal. My goal is to keep growing my business so customers can always find what they need, and to give my children the opportunity to study well and choose the future they want.”