How to Apply a Gender Lens to the Evaluation of Off-Grid Solar Investments
This is a sector-specific diagnostic guide to support investors and fund managers to identify existing and future opportunities for gender-smart investing in the off-grid solar (OGS) sector. The guide focuses on standalone products, systems and services which supply energy to people living beyond the reach of the grid power supply.
This guide contains questions for investors to ask during screening and due diligence, and suggests possible actions to take depending on the answers to these questions. Depending on the structure of your organisation, responsibility for covering gender impact opportunities in due diligence and portfolio management will vary and can be led by investment, environmental, social and governance (ESG), impact, or gender teams. It is down to the investor or fund manager to determine where responsibility sits.
Gender-smart investing is smart business. We know off-grid energy companies that perform well on gender inclusivity return greater profit. We also know that decentralised clean power solutions such as OGS can play a role in addressing women’s limited access to electricity in rural and peri-urban areas, and enhance women’s equal access to economic opportunity. This highlights a significant business and impact opportunity.
Additional information on the rationale for taking a gender-lens to OGS investments and relevant trends in the sector can be found within this brief
