This report examines the challenge of how to bring power to over one billion people who live without electricity, mostly in very remote, rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Countries in Africa and Asia need reliable energy to power economic development, and off-grid renewable electricity offers new ways to provide reliable sources of energy. African and Asian countries also have the opportunity to become world leaders in renewable energy. 

This report demonstrates that off-grid renewable electricity, particularly solar, now offers a wider range of modern solutions, such as solar lamps and stand-alone solar panels, that are often cheaper, faster, more reliable, safer, and cleaner than extending a centralised grid, or using kerosene and diesel. This technology is a game changer to power people in rural areas and is challenging the historical approach that extending a centralised grid is the best way to electrify a whole country. Faster progress is needed. Under a business-asusual scenario, almost 700 million people will still be without access to electricity in 2030,