Within reach? Sustainable energy infrastructure financing for “hardest to reach” communities
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Date
2025-11-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers
Abstract
Providing energy access in “hard to reach” under- or unelectrified contexts like informal settlements or remote rural regions requires rethinking how we develop and finance energy access business models. While terminologies like “hardest to reach,” “reaching the last mile” or “leaving no-one behind” have increasingly been used within energy access and broader development discourses, different country and regional contexts present unique and practical challenges for deploying electrification models in these areas. These challenges are also intrinsically linked to the viability gap, which results from a disjuncture between end-users' ability to pay and revenues required to cover the cost of service. “Hard to reach” areas can comprise geographically remote regions like rural villages or urban informal settlements where households and businesses are precluded from grid electricity and other key infrastructure services due to financial, socio-technical and socio-political barriers despite being directly “under the grid.” In this paper we argue that contextual grounding is needed when exploring the intricacies of delivering energy access in contexts that traditionally lack formal service provision, security of tenure and material certainty. We furthermore argue that it is necessary to critically engage with discourses that characterize geographic remoteness as “un-electrifiable.” Notwithstanding the increased focus on leaving no-one behind in the international agenda, more pragmatic grounding is needed to understand and draw lessons from energy access in dynamic contexts. Drawing on the authors' current and prior experience working on research projects on off-grid energy and other infrastructures across sub-Saharan Africa, the paper compares the geographic contexts of urban informality and geographically remote contexts through six case studies from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, the Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and Madagascar. It explores the intricacies and practicalities of providing energy access in urban informal settlements, remote rural villages or displacement settings, and provides lessons for policy and practice.
Description
This review investigates financing models for sustainable energy infrastructure in “hardest‑to‑reach” communities—urban informal settlements and remote rural regions—across six sub-Saharan case studies, including Uganda, highlighting socio-technical, financial, and tenure-based barriers. It underscores the importance of contextualized business models to bridge the viability gap and achieve reliable energy access. The research advances SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) by promoting inclusive electrification strategies. While not explicitly agriculture-focused, the findings align with Uganda’s NDP IV objectives for infrastructure development, digital inclusion, and service equity, supporting rural‑urban integration and economic transformation.
Keywords
Energy finance, Hard-to-reach communities, Off-grid energy, Remote rural, Urban informality, Sustainable energy, Energy access, Last mile
Citation
Pailman, W., Caprotti, F., Yaguma, P., Hastie, H., Oemmelen, K., Opio, I., & Sheridan, D. (2025). Within reach? Sustainable energy infrastructure financing for'hardest to reach'communities. Frontiers in Sustainable Energy Policy, 4, 1527162.