GERES AND ENERGY ACCESS

This position paper by Geres, an international development NGO, outlines its strategy for achieving universal energy access as a catalyst for the energy transition and poverty reduction. The document details Geres' approach to providing affordable, renewable energy services to households and small businesses at the 'base of the pyramid,' emphasizing the integration of energy efficiency, local capacity building, and gender equality to ensure sustainable development and climate resilience.

• Geres aims to contribute to universal access to affordable and reliable energy services, viewing this as a 'social floor' that enables improvements in income, education, health, and gender equality. The organization advocates for moving beyond 'binary measurement' of energy access to a framework that considers power output, reliability, safety, and hours of daily access, referencing the World Bank's Multi-Tier Framework.
• The organization implements 'Green Business Areas' (GBAs), which act as incubators for rural businesses powered by mini-grids. As of the report date, Geres has 8 GBAs in operation, having electrified 80 businesses and created over 250 direct jobs, with a target of 18 GBAs by 2025 managed by an independent social business.
• Geres addresses energy poverty in both developing and developed contexts. In France, where 11.7% of households are in energy poverty, the NGO provides socio-energy diagnostics and advocacy. In developing countries, it focuses on the transition from non-access to energy poverty, noting that initial access via solar lamps or limited mini-grids often remains insufficient for productive activities.
• The NGO promotes a combination of energy efficiency (optimizing consumption through better appliances) and energy sobriety (controlling consumption through non-excessive use). This is highlighted by the observation that electricity consumption on the interconnected grid in Mali increased by 100% over 10 years, largely due to urban cooling needs.
• Geres employs various innovations to scale energy access: technical innovations like the 'vis Kalama' for Jatropha biofuel engines; economic innovations such as partial guarantees for micro-finance institution (MFI) loans in Mali and interest rate reductions for low-energy housing in Tajikistan; and territorial innovations including a social enterprise network for last-mile services in Myanmar.
• Gender equality is central to Geres' strategy, based on the premise that women may reinvest up to 90% of their income into their families. Specific actions include training women entrepreneurs in Myanmar to market energy-efficient products and creating a 100% female sales network in Morocco for 'FaranEco' energy-efficient ovens, which reduce gas consumption by 30% to 50%.
• The organization emphasizes clean cooking to reduce the 4.3 million premature deaths annually attributed by the WHO to inefficient biomass use. Geres supports the rationalized use of biomass through efficient stoves for the poorest populations who cannot afford LPG or ethanol, thereby reducing pressure on forest ecosystems.

APA

Alliance for Renewable Electrification (n.d.). GERES AND ENERGY ACCESS. https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2023_Position-paper-EN.pdf

Chicago

Alliance for Renewable Electrification. GERES AND ENERGY ACCESS. n.d. https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2023_Position-paper-EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Alliance for Renewable Electrification |title=GERES AND ENERGY ACCESS |url=https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2023_Position-paper-EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{allianceforrenewableelectrificationndgeres, author = {{Alliance for Renewable Electrification}}, title = {{GERES AND ENERGY ACCESS}}, institution = {Alliance for Renewable Electrification}, url = {https://www.renewelec.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2023_Position-paper-EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }