The announcement was made during the launch of the solar power component of the Electricity for Rural Transformation (ERT) program by Uganda's government, the Private Sector Foundation of Uganda and nine aid agencies. The program will make the subsidies available to end users through microfinance institutions by means of cash payments or loan offsets, and has been inspired by similar schemes in some Asian countries such as Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.
The announcement is a great piece of news for a country where only one in twenty households has access to electricity, and this year the situation is even worse due to a drought which has badly damaged the hydro power supply.
Uganda expects to achieve 80,000 new solar facilities in the next three years, a steep increase from the 10,000 facilities built in the last 6 years (which is not a bad figure for an African country!). The campaign also aims to make solar power more affordable in the country due to scale economies. The necessary resources will be provided with funds from the World Bank, the UNDP and some microfinance organizations.
For additional information:
