ENERGY | Designing and supporting inclusive business ventures
Supported Baobab+ in designing and launching its solar lanterns and PAYGo SHS activities in West Africa
The Baobab group (formerly called Microcred) is a microfinance group that offers tailored financial services to financially underserved entrepreneurs.
Between 2015 and 2018, Hystra worked with Baobab to design, test, and implement an innovative distribution strategy for solar lanterns in francophone Africa, drawing on synergies with its branch network and customer base. More specifically, we helped:
dentifying new business opportunities (sectors, markets, etc.) to increase their rural consumer base, which led to the strategic decision to enter the solar sector through the creation of Baobab+
Designing and launching Baobab+, a distributor selling solar lanterns and home systems, digital solutions, and water filters on credit, including supporting the pilot in Senegal
Launching the Paygo SHS activity in Côte d’Ivoire with secondment of a senior consultant in 2017
Baobab+ is now developing access to energy in West Africa (Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali) and Madagascar, through classic loans for Microcred clients or through Pay-As-You-Go models to make solar products accessible to all.