News, academic and policy publications are increasingly highlighting the space Rise Solar operates within, drawing attention to the tremendous need and potential for change:

The Economist | Africa’s Hopeful Economies: The Sun Shines Bright 

“Since The Economist regrettably labelled Africa ‘the hopeless continent’ a decade ago, a profound change has taken hold. Labour productivity has been rising. It is now growing by, on average, 2.7% a year. Trade between Africa and the rest of the world has increased by 200% since 2000. Inflation dropped from 22% in the 1990s to 8% in the past decade. Foreign debts declined by a quarter, budget deficits by two-thirds. In eight of the past ten years, according to the World Bank, sub-Saharan growth has been faster than East Asia’s (though that does include Japan).”

Time | The Worst Kind of Poverty: Energy Poverty 

“Though it hasn’t gotten the attention that global problems like HIV/AIDS and malaria have received in recent years, lack of power remains a major obstacle to any progress in global development… Solar power can be installed quickly and cheaply far off the grid, providing enough power for light and basic services — and it’s not as if sub-Saharan Africa is lacking for sunlight. With smart and green investment, the IEA believes that achieving universal energy access would increase global carbon emissions by only 0.7% by 2030 — a drop in the climate bucket. ‘Solar is going to play a huge role in improving energy access,’ says Birol. ‘It’s one of the best ways to meet challenges off the grid.’”

Harvard Business Review | The Clean-Tech Economy at the Base of the Pyramid

“The early markets for tomorrow’s technologies will be in the large underserved populations at the base of the pyramid — especially China, India, Latin America, and Africa — where 4 to 5 billion underserved people live and the biggest problems to solve exist… By focusing the application of clean technologies on underserved global communities, companies can incubate innovative products and business models with massive growth potential that move us toward a more sustainable world… The U.S. can lead the rise of the global clean-tech economy by collaborating with emerging economy countries and investing in sustainable development at the base of the pyramid, where the lion’s share of future demand will be.”

Harvard Business Review | Cracking the Next Growth Market: Africa

“…the prospects for consumer-facing companies are bright. Africans spent $860 billion on goods and services in 2008—35% more than the $635 billion that Indians spent, and slightly more than the $821 billion of consumer expenditures in Russia. If Africa maintains its current growth trajectory, consumers will buy $1.4 trillion worth of goods and services in 2020, which will be a little less than India’s projected $1.7 trillion but more than Russia’s $960 billion.”

The New York Times | Where the Grid Will Not Go

“By the year 2020, the grid coverage is projected to reach 35% of Rwanda. But even when new power lines are hung, there will remain many out-of-reach rural areas. In these regions, solar power could be the answer… Just as the rapid expansion of cell phone coverage across Africa has meant that many remote places will probably never bother with land lines, a focus on renewable energy in developing countries could provide desperately needed power while skipping over environmental damage and reliance on external sources of fossil fuel.”

The Economist | Digital Africa

“When it comes to electricity, Africa remains the dark continent. There are a billion Africans, and they use only 4% of the world’s electricity. Most of that is round the edges, in Egypt, the Maghreb and South Africa. The rest of Africa is unlit; seen from space, the Congo River basin is as dark as the Southern Ocean. Demand for power is already outpacing economic growth. With its population expected to double to 2 billion by 2050, Africa will have to build entire new power grids just to stand still… Yet Africa’s virtual future is not dependent on its physical future. You don’t need much electricity to run a phone network. You need even less to run a phone itself.”

Time | Building a Country by Switching On the Lights

“The first decades of the 21st century will be remembered as the ones in which the world finally began to grapple with global development. The likes of Bill and Melinda Gates and Bono — TIME’s Persons of the Year in 2005 — have channeled funds to fighting malaria, TB and HIV, while supporting agriculture, infrastructure and even governance. But there’s one obstacle to development that has too often been forgotten, a blind spot that does more than almost anything to keep the poor poor: they don’t have electric power.”

The New York Times | African Huts Far From the Grid Glow With Renewable Power (Graphic)

“As small-scale renewable energy becomes cheaper, more reliable and more efficient, it is providing the first drops of modern power to people who live far from slow-growing electricity grids and fuel pipelines in developing countries… As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families [in Africa] have proved ever more willing to buy it…”

The Economist | Energy in the Developing World - Power to the People

“Providing energy in a bottom-up way instead has a lot to recommend it. There is no need to wait for politicians or utilities to act. The technology in question, from solar panels to low-energy light-emitting diodes (LEDs), is rapidly falling in price. Local, bottom-up systems may be more sustainable and produce fewer carbon emissions than centralised schemes. In the rich world, in fact, the trend is towards a more flexible system of distributed, sustainable power sources. The developing world has an opportunity to leapfrog the centralised model, just as it leapfrogged fixed-line telecoms and went straight to mobile phones.”

Harvard Business Review | The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value (Related Video)

“Capitalism is an unparalleled vehicle for meeting human needs, improving efficiency, creating jobs, and building wealth. But a narrow conception of capitalism has prevented business from harnessing its full potential to meet society’s broader challenges. The opportunities have been there all along but have been overlooked. Businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues we face. The moment for a new conception of capitalism is now; society’s needs are large and growing, while customers, employees, and a new generation of young people are asking business to step up.”

McKinsey & Company | Lions on the Move: The Progress and Potential of African Economies 

“Africa’s growth acceleration was widespread…Future economic growth will be supported by Africa’s increasing ties to the global economy…Africa’s economic growth is creating substantial new business opportunities that are often overlooked by global companies…Today the rate of return on foreign investment in Africa is higher than in any other developing region.”

The Wall Street Journal | Interactive Graphic: A New Gold Rush

“While Africa’s resource wealth continues to lure the bulk of foreign investment, the rise of a new consumer class is beginning to shift the balance… Africa’s number of telecom subscribers exceeded 450 million in 2009, up from 52 million in 2003.”

World Bank | The Role of Mobile Phones in Sustainable Rural Poverty Reduction

“Both poverty and lack of information are common bed partners. Thus, the dissemination of information together with serving rural areas  has double anti-poverty imperative. Studies have attributed multiple benefits to the mobile phone: from lowering negative aspects (e.g., corruption, crime, high prices) to raising positive aspects (e.g., levels of education, efficiency, health). Such benefits already witnessed in the developing world can also spread to the developing world, provided the right level of access and pricing are put into place. ”

World Bank & IFC | Solar Lighting for the Base of the Pyramid - Overview of an Emerging Market

“The next five years will see the market reach the inflection point of its growth curve. The community at large is starting to take a significant interest in this market. Technology is improving at a rapid rate, business models are maturing, and the focus by industry players and market facilitators on addressing market failures means that the solar lighting market is ready for a substantial inflow of private sector investment and exponential growth.”