Technology & Innovation
Cultivating Innovative Ideas for a Changing World
Technology & Innovation
Ideas and approaches from the past are no longer enough to keep pace with the world’s challenges. Global Communities embeds innovation at every level of our programming, creating space for digital solutions and agile approaches that can blaze a trail to new thinking and a more just and equitable world.
From partnering with the private sector to upend the home sanitation market in Ghana and expanding access to credit for women business owners in the Middle East to putting mobile technology in the hands of East African pastoralists, we are working to expand opportunity, prosperity and social inclusion. We are exploring new solutions for safe commodities storage, taking community savings groups online, and connecting people and ideas across languages and borders to build a better future for all.
Read our latest Technology & Innovation story below.
How Financial Innovation is Fostering Renewable Energy in Iraq
By Lizzie Hickman
Iraq is the sixth largest oil producer globally. However, despite the country’s drilling capacity, citizens are faced with daily power outages and forced to pay high fuel costs.
Additionally, Iraq’s power grid is not structured to meet energy demands. The grid loses 40 to 50% of the power it produces, causing frequent outages. On average, Iraqi households and businesses receive six hours of power from the national power grid per day.
Power outages aren’t just inconvenient, they’re dangerous. In July and August, temperatures in Iraq average 95 degrees Fahrenheit and regularly exceed 112 degrees. When power outages occur, air conditioning units are unable to run, which significantly increases the threat of heat stress and related illnesses even while indoors. Although some individuals and businesses run private gas- or diesel-powered generators during outages, they are often noisy and expensive.
In addition to being costly, generators are tough on the environment. Diesel exhaust alone contains more than 40 toxic air pollutants that are inhaled and sent into the atmosphere. Fossil fuels, like diesel, account for 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 90% of all carbon dioxide emissions, both of which have a major impact on climate change. However, there is a solution to providing reliable power daily that reduces strain on the national power grid and removes the need for generators: solar energy.
Solar energy is not always accessible for business owners who are interested in a green solution due to the high initial investment for purchasing solar panels. According to KESK, the first greentech company in Iraq, the lack of adequate electricity supply is a major hindrance to productivity for 73% of small and medium-sized enterprise businesses (SMEs) in Iraq. For these businesses, when renewable energy solutions are purchased, a return on investment can be seen in three and a half years.
To help support businesses in accessing reliable energy, the Vitas Group (Vitas) is launching a financing initiative. Vitas is a for profit micro and small business lending arm of Global Communities that has a triple bottom line mission of financial inclusion, social and environmental impact. In seeking to create greater public awareness among business owners on how renewable energy can support their business needs, Vitas began looking into financing green energy loans.
Learn more about Vitas Group
In 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) researched solar market needs in Iraq and found the serviceable size of the solar market could generate $20 billion. Despite this research, financial institutions were hesitant to support renewable energy projects. To encourage program creation, IOM created a grant that would allow institutions to fund solar projects.
In response to IOM’s research and grant opportunity, Vitas Iraq decided to launch a test product to determine the long-term viability of a solar financing option for businesses in Iraq.
Everyone is interested in solar energy and the need is there for air conditioning, solar panel systems and refrigeration in businesses. However, financing a solar product can be challenging.”
Before Vitas launched a pilot solar loan program, they conducted their own market research to gauge the impacts of weather and power outages on local businesses. Vitas surveyed 85 business owners to confirm there was interest in solar energy and that businesses were willing to take loans to finance solar products.
The majority of survey respondents were thrilled to know that such a product solution could be introduced in the market. Financing solar products fulfills a need in the difficult time Iraq is facing.”
With the market for solar power made clear, Vitas enlisted the help of the Vitas Lab to create an innovative solution. In 2020, Vitas launched the Vitas Lab as an innovation financing center focused on testing new ideas, creating new products, identifying new partnerships and driving responsible financial innovation. The Vitas Lab applies a design thinking approach to products and services at every step through conducting research, generating ideas, prototyping and testing. Specific focus is given to projects that have a social impact related to the environment, gender equity or financial inclusion.
At a time when disasters and disruptions are becoming more common and catastrophic, Global Communities, together with our local partners, equips communities with the training, tools and resources they need to recover from crises and build long-term resilience in the face of constant change.
From prevention and adaptation to positive transformation, we focus on solutions that center local voices and expand opportunities for growth, leadership and advancement.
Built with Shorthand