Why Energy-as-as-Service?
Energy is infrastructure that should be deployed and managed as a service at the last mile.
How Energy-as-as-Service removes barriers to energy access
Current delivery models have grown the off-grid market but remain insufficient to reach the lowest-income and most remote communities.
Achieving universal energy access requires us to move beyond counting product sales towards delivering reliable electricity as long-term infrastructure.
Energy-as-a-Service (EaaS) is not a new concept, but applying it to distributed renewable energy at the last mile is a systemic shift.
It changes programme structuring, financing, impact measurement and operational focus from one-off solar home system sales to reliable, long-term electricity service.
Under EaaS, households pay for electricity rather than owning equipment, while vetted local operators install, maintain, repair and replace systems under long-term performance-based contracts.
This approach is designed around the three pillars of our model: affordability first, community-wide coverage and long-term service.
This operational sustainability, delivers dependable energy access and creates local employment while reducing e-waste and ensuring systems continue to serve entire communities over their full lifetime.
Deploying solar home systems through Energy-as-a-Service addresses many of the challenges that prevent households from accessing electricity and staying connected:
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Affordability is prioritised through a focus on the Levelised Cost of Access (LCOA) rather than Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE), eliminating upfront payments and replacing them with affordable monthly service fees.
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Maintenance, repairs and component replacement are included, ensuring system durability and long-term service.
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Professional local operators, engaged through long-term contracts, provide continuous, high-quality customer support close to the customer, driving payment collection, system performance and long-term engagement.
We’re Building the ecosystem needed to scale the next era of electrification.
Since 2024, REAL has supported Africa’s three largest EaaS solar home system pilots, which have collectively delivered more than 26,700 connections across Sierra Leone, Senegal and Malawi.
Building on this implementation experience, REAL Programme Catalyst is driving widespread deployment of the EaaS model through a holistic ecosystem approach. Through informed, experience-led programme design, financing, and advocacy, we help create bankable models that unlock private-sector participation in underserved markets.
What REAL does
Proves the model
Pilots the EaaS for SHS model in new markets with local developers, funders and governments.
Produces actionable data
Blueprints, comparative data and standards the whole sector adopts.
Mobilises the capital
Raises the patient capital that fills market gaps by developing a Universal Access Platform.
Our approach
Our approach is grounded in real-world implementation experience and operational data from pioneering EaaS programmes, giving investors, governments, and industry partners a proven blueprint for delivering reliable energy access at scale.
Combining field-tested expertise with rigorous data analysis, REAL supports programme design and structuring, financing and asset management that make EaaS bankable and replicable. Insights generated across programmes in Africa also inform policy development and market design.
We understand both public and private sector perspectives and use this to develop strong partnerships and funding strategies that support sustainable energy access projects.
Our goal is to mobilise $120 million in project finance, reach around 6 million people and catalyse a lasting shift towards sustainable, service-based energy access.