Today, 5.5 million households are without access to energy. Even under assumptions of aggressive growth, it’s expected that Uganda will fall short of its 2030 goal by 4 million households. However, these “unserved” populations are poorly defined and poorly understood and to grow off-grid connectivity there is a strong need for better understanding of the unserved segments of the population. This initiative provides a consolidated description of unserved off-grid populations in Uganda, mobilizes operators to innovate & explore new segments of the population, and organizes donors and the public sector to provide the targeted support needed to reach Uganda’s unserved communities.

To design programs or set up distribution points for these unserved populations, there is an overarching need to clearly define these groups, understand their preferences and challenges, then determine pathways, and associated costs, to reach them.
In 2017 we focused on researching and consolidating available information on the unserved populations from government agencies, private sector operator data and statistics. Our research called out several themes around affordability, distribution and awareness.

In 2018, our focus is to support new pilots targeting unserved populations through innovations in awareness building, business models, and/or distribution. Additionally, we are continuing to share research and insights with the market as we continue to position ourselves as the thought leader and partner for the market.