Philippines - Micro social franchise renting lighting sets

Presentation of the NGO

The NGO ENTREPRENEURS DU MONDE

Since its creation in 1998 the French NGO, Entrepreneurs du Monde, has been working with communities in developing countries. The organisation enables thousands of women and men living in extremely difficult circumstances to improve their living conditions: it provides support for their own economic initiatives and helps them gain access to products offering significant health, economic and environmental benefits. It helps these people to be more  successful , which in turn enables them to make economic and social progress.

Today the organisation is active in 12 countries and its work, either through its own programs or in collaboration with its local partners, focuses on 3 areas: social microfinance, social entrepreneurship, and the creation of very small businesses (VSB).

To ensure the success of these initiatives, the Entrepreneurs du Monde team is led by executives and trustees who, for the most part, have a business background.

The context of the project

The project ‘ATO Co.’, or ATE means ‘older sister’ in phllippinian but also ‘Acess to Energy’.

Most of the families living in the Manila slums do not have access to electricity.

At the end of 2015, the ATE Co. project started successfully in the Isla Puting Bato and Parola slums of Manila. These first two service points have enabled one hundred homes to be lit up by providing them a flexible service adapted to their income, and providing them an alternative to candles and kerosene lamps, their traditional lightening systems.

ATE Co. is the first organisation to develop Pay-as-you-Go in the Philippines, a solution fully adapted to the poorest families. Beyond the financial service itself, the team brings a complete service: installing a quality product, training the family to use it, collecting payments and maintaining the kits during the repayment period.

The general goal of this project is to keep on developing the project of ATE Co. in order to create a local sustainable social business at the service of the families from the slums in Manila.

Presentation of the project

The energetic issue of the NGO

Today, most of the families living in the slums don’t have access to electricity in their homes what prevents them from achieving daily tasks such as school homeworks, cooking and activities that could generate income. These families are forced to use kerosene lamps and candles, which give off little light, as well as being harmful and dangerous (i.e. fires that devastate whole neighbourhoods of plywood shacks).

To provide these families a quality lighting system, Entrepreneurs du Monde has partnered up with Total Access to Energy Programm  to launch the ATE Co. project. Since then, 200 families have benefited from it. Nevertheless, this project still faces many challenges such as developing a standard service that is adapted to the families whose situations differ from another, built communities of entrepreneurs that are strong and show solidarity, optimize the logistic chain by setting up focal points, improve the follow-ups of products and be flexible to deal with the numerous unpredicted happenings in the slum.

The action supported by Synergie Solaire

Solutions

The goal of the project is to open 6 new service points by the end of 2017 what would equip 1200 new families. In order to open each service point, the energy team of EDM must invest in LED lamps, and lithium batteries as well as in the setting up of a charging station that is secured and functional.

Consequently, a network of micro-franchised entrepreneurs responsible for promoting and renting the LED lamps and the last-generation lithium batteries in their local communities is currently developing. The products are indeed delivered by micro-entrepreneurs originating from the slums, trained and supported by the ATE Co. team.

ATE Co. has set up a rental service of LED kits which are installed in the home and are energised by lithium batteries, which give out up to 24 hours lighting. These are recharged and home delivered for 15 pesos per day.

This social enterprise is therefore a sustainable project at aims at local empowerment and autonomy.

Our Involvement

Annual Budget: 100 000€/an

Participation of Synergie Solaire: 50K€ for 2016 and 2017 (25K€/an)

Sustainable development impacts of the project

Social Impact

• Improvement of living conditions for families in slums
• Consideration of populations left abandoned by the social and economic system of their country

Economic Impact

• Job creation by the development of a network of entrepreneurs
• Economic access to electricity for the poorer families

Environmental Impact

• Access to a qualitative lightening system
• Reduction of nasty smokes and fire risks linked to the use of kerosene lamps and candles