We collaborate with a for-profit company supplying sustainable and efficient solar energy solutions (e.g. lights, fans, mobile chargers, TV) to small businesses in off-grid areas of rural Sindh in Pakistan. We will evaluate the impact of solar systems on small business outcomes in off-grid areas and investigate key determinants of the sustainability of the business model and of product take-up, by looking at the trade-off between discipline and flexibility in repayment schedule. We will also explore the behavioural underpinnings of two repayment schemes, by testing soft ways to increase the salience of repayment. The project is expected to start in October 2016 and is being funded by the IGC.
Research team: Giovanna d’Adda (Politecnico di Milano), Mahreen Mahmud (University of Oxford), Farah Said (Lahore School of Economics), Massimo Tavoni (Politecnico di Milano and FEEM)