Clasp
Off-Grid Appliance Market Survey and Procurement
About CLASP
CLASP serves as the leading international voice & resource for appliance energy efficiency policies and market acceleration initiatives.
From advancing the off-grid solar technologies bringing power to energy-impoverished people, to cutting the catastrophic climate impacts of air conditioning, CLASP programs increase uptake of affordable, low-impact, high-quality appliances.
Executive Summary
- Industry: Public Policy, Renewable Energy
- CLASP’s Goals: Engaged kpakpakpa to assist with developing its global off-grid appliance database through the survey of laboratory-tested product performance data of locally available off-grid appliances in the Nigerian market.
- Results: CLASP received market insights about the current state of off-grid appliances present in Nigeria, along with a streamlined logistics solution of procured appliances to its global Lab partners for product-testing.
Challenge
The UK aid funded Low Energy Inclusive Appliances programme (LEIA) aimed to accelerate the availability, affordability, efficiency, and performance of a range of low energy inclusive appliances particularly suited to developing country contexts.
The LEIA programme was to be delivered through an international “Efficiency for Access” coalition coordinated by CLASP and UK’s Energy Saving Trust (EST).
CLASP and EST were developing an off-grid appliance database with laboratory-tested product performance data.
To support these efforts, CLASP was seeking multiple local consultants with experience in conducting off-grid appliance market scoping survey and procuring product samples for testing in one of the following key markets in Africa and South Asia – Bangladesh, DR Congo, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Solution
KPA provided a detailed engagement by coordinating and managing the activities of local consultants and logistics teams in Nigeria to help CLASP get the local data needed for its database development.
The engagement involved:
- Market Scoping: Identifying market locations where off-grid products were available for purchase, prioritizing markets for visits, and developing a travel plan – clearly outlining the locations selected for field visits, estimated person-days required to complete the field visit at each location, and estimated travel costs per location.
- Field Visits & Surveys: Conducting a brief off-grid product survey with retailers or distributors at the market to identify off-grid appliances that are available at that market and collecting basic product information for each product. This was concluded by collecting the survey responses, compiling the survey results, and finalizing a list of products to be procured for testing.
- Product Procurement & Shipping: Purchasing product samples agreed upon with CLASP, verifying that the product samples were packaged properly, and coordinating product-sample shipping from market locations to test laboratories outside Nigeria.
During the engagement, KPA’s engagement manager maintained constant communication through bi-weekly conference calls with CLASP’s representatives.
The engagement was collaborative and open to updated needs during the project which included adapting to the constant logistics challenges that were compounded during Nigeria’s rainy season – when the project was conducted.
Outcome
- Off-Grid Market Insights
CLASP received market insights into the unique off-grid appliance market landscape in Nigeria. Based on a robust data collection method in the largest electronic hubs in Southwest and Central Nigeria, CLASP understood the local demand for off-grid appliances which was quite different from insights gathered from other developing markets within its targets. These insights were used to build their off-grid appliance database, educate their policy partners, and inform their next research opportunities in Nigeria’s growing populous. - Streamlined Logistics Solution
CLASP received an on-ground streamlined logistics solution that they monitored remotely. By coordinating the activities of retailers, local logistics service providers, warehousing facilities for safe storage, and CLAP’s preferred shipping agents, CLASP could easily navigate the daunting logistics landscape in Nigeria. This allowed the products procured in Nigeria to be easily purchased, safely stored, properly packaged, for delivery to test labs outside Nigeria – in the UK, India, and Netherlands.
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