Reliable access to clean energy remains out of reach for most households in Uganda’s refugee settlements. In Kyaka II and Kyangwali, two of the largest refugee settlements in western Uganda, only 1 percent of refugee households are connected to the national grid, while host communities fare only slightly better at 2 percent connection. When it comes to cooking, firewood and charcoal dominate, accounting for nearly all household energy use. Firewood alone is the main cooking fuel for 85 percent of households in refugee-hosting districts, while 14 percent rely primarily on charcoal.
Such low levels of access have wide-ranging consequences. For households, clean energy means better health, lower costs, and new livelihood opportunities. For clean energy businesses, underserved communities represent untapped markets with long-term potential. And for the wider development agenda, clean energy offers a pathway from aid dependency toward self-reliance and inclusive economic growth.
Yet experience from the IKEA Foundation-supported SMILES project shows that energy solutions in fragile settings don’t fail for lack of demand; they fail when business models don’t adapt. One promising pathway is the agent model, where trusted local intermediaries bridge the gap between companies and last-mile customers. Over three years, SMILES worked with BrightLife and the International Lifeline Fund (ILF) to test versions of the agent model tailored to the realities of refugee and host communities. SMILES’s innovative integration of the Graduation Approach and Market Systems Development (MSD) created the space for private sector partners to experiment, learn, and pivot their versions of the agent model without losing commercial discipline. The central lesson: the model can deliver affordable, customer-centered solutions, but only when it is carefully adapted to context.
In this blog, the latest in our series of learning briefs from the SMILES project, we look at how BrightLife and ILF applied the agent model in practice to understand what worked, what didn’t, and what these experiences reveal about building viable clean energy businesses in fragile markets. You can find out more about Graduation + MSD Integration and operationalizing this model in earlier blogs in this series.
The Agent Model: Unlocking Opportunity Through Adaptation
Leveraging tested MSD learning around commercial agent models in agriculture and finance, the agent model in the energy market system offers a way to expand clean energy access in places where traditional distribution channels don’t reach. At its core, the model recruits trusted community members to act as intermediaries, selling products such as solar kits or cookstoves, providing after-sales support, and relaying feedback between households and companies.
The strength of the model lies in local trust and accessibility. Agents live in the same villages as their customers. They know the daily realities of community life and can tailor sales and support accordingly. For companies, this reduces the cost and risk of reaching far-flung customers, while for client households, novel energy solutions seem more accessible and trustworthy when they’re supplied and supported by neighbors.
But the model only works when it is adapted to local community and market realities. Agents must be supported with the right incentives, training, and supply chain backing. And critically, the products they sell must match both the purchasing power and everyday realities of extremely poor households. SMILES’s collaboration with BrightLife and ILF shows how the agent model can be adapted in fragile contexts to create fit-for-purpose solutions.
BrightLife: Bringing Solar to the Last Mile
BrightLife, a social enterprise that is part of FINCA Plus, set out to expand solar energy access through a pay-as-you-go model. Customers put down a small deposit and then made weekly mobile money payments until they fully owned the kit. The company initially offered refurbished solar home systems, rigorously tested and backed by a three-year warranty, as a lower-cost entry point.
Adapting to Customer Needs
Despite quality checks, refurbished units underperformed, leading to breakdowns and undermining repayment morale. BrightLife responded quickly by replacing faulty units and shifting to newer, higher-quality kits that provide not only lighting but also mobile charging and radio access. In some cases, households even turned these features into small businesses by charging neighbors’ phones to help cover repayment costs.
Resident Sales Agents
BrightLife also restructured its agent model. Initially, agents were based near branch offices, which meant long travel times to reach customers in settlements with poor infrastructure. The company pivoted to recruit “resident sales agents” who lived within 15 kilometers of their customers. This proximity strengthened trust, ensured faster after-sales support, and made energy access feel embedded in community life.
Tackling Affordability
Even with the improved product and closer agent network, affordability remained the biggest barrier. Refugee households simply could not meet market prices. Recognizing this, BrightLife turned to performance-based subsidies and de-risking funds from SMILES and the Uganda Energy Credit Capitalisation Company (UECCC). These subsidies brought weekly payments down to the same level households were already spending on kerosene. By reframing solar as a cheaper and safer alternative rather than an extra expense, BrightLife improved uptake significantly.
BrightLife also chose not to impose penalties in cases of late payments. Instead, it disconnected solar kits for customers in arrears but reconnected them as soon as families could make a payment, recognizing the irregular income flows in refugee settings.
Results and Impact
BrightLife has reached 1,631 households in Kyaka II and Kyangwali over the last three years. That’s nearly 4,900 people, including more than 1,000 women. Access to affordable solar products has enabled families to save on kerosene and charging costs, extend business hours, and invest in small projects such as poultry. Loans also performed strongly, with an 81 percent repayment rate, reflecting both demand and the value of consistent after-care support.
For Sara, a 44-year-old mother in Kyaka II, the change has been transformative: “Now, I have light, income, and peace. My children read at night, we listen to the radio together, and I no longer worry about darkness.”
Lessons from BrightLife
BrightLife’s experience yields three key insights:
- Customer-centric design matters. Adapting technology to local needs is non-negotiable.
- Agents must be local. Embedding sales and service into communities builds trust and supports adoption.
- Affordability is crucial. Without subsidies or creative financing, extremely poor households cannot participate, no matter how strong the product is.
International Lifeline Fund (ILF): Clean Cooking Through Local Vendors
Cooking fuels present an equally pressing challenge. To tackle the health, environmental, and financial costs of traditional cookfires, SMILES partnered with ILF to introduce fuel-efficient EcoSmart cookstoves in refugee and host communities. These “clean” stoves cut fuel use and smoke, helping to curb deforestation, lower expenses, improve health, and make kitchens safer. Through a local vendor and sales agent network, ILF is driving adoption and supporting a shift away from traditional fires toward more sustainable cooking practices.
Building Vendor Networks
Rather than establishing its own storefronts, ILF partnered with existing community vendors: trusted local businesspeople with customer relationships already in place. Vendors received training, stock, and support to build their capacity. To extend reach further, vendors recruited area-based sales agents responsible for last-mile engagement and product demonstrations.
Overcoming Financing Barriers
A major barrier emerged: vendors lacked the capital to stock sufficient stoves. Here, the SMILES “smart subsidy” played a pivotal role by acting as a guarantee fund, allowing vendors to stock on credit without bearing the risk of default. This de-risking mechanism gave the model breathing room to test the market and strengthen supply chains.
Product Positioning and Marketing
Affordability again proved central. In peri-urban areas, customers preferred cheaper, portable charcoal stoves. In rural settlements, where cooking spaces were more permanent and firewood was plentiful, dual-fuel stoves (wood and charcoal) gained traction. This underlined the importance of piloting multiple product designs to match diverse cooking practices.
ILF also shifted its marketing strategy. Instead of selling stoves as just another commodity, it positioned them as durable investments that reduce fuel costs, improve health, and offer long-term savings. Cooking demonstrations, training sessions, and media outreach reinforced this message.
To build awareness, ILF launched a local radio campaign on Kyaka FM and Ref FM, broadcasting in Runyakitara and Swahili to reach both refugee and host communities. The campaign combined DJ mentions, spot adverts, and interactive talk shows featuring program staff and community leaders. Listeners phoned in to ask questions and share experiences, turning radio into a platform for dialogue, learning, and behavior change. Positioning these stoves as affordable, reliable products rather than free giveaways was an important evolution from earlier humanitarian practices, addressing common challenges where distributed stoves were not always used, maintained, or replaced.
Lessons from ILF
ILF’s approach illustrates that:
- Local vendors are critical entry points. They offer trust and community reach.
- Guarantee funds can unlock supply chains. Without de-risking, vendors cannot stock products at scale.
- One size does not fit all. Different customer segments require different stove types.
What We’ve Learned About the Agent Model
The experiences of BrightLife and ILF highlight a consistent truth: the challenge in refugee settlements and refugee host communities isn’t demand for clean energy, but whether business models can evolve to meet it.
The agent model, when carefully adapted, helps overcome three persistent challenges in fragile markets:
- Trust: Local agents and vendors anchor services in the community, building confidence among customers wary of unfamiliar products.
- Affordability: Performance-based subsidies, flexible payment plans, and risk-sharing arrangements bring prices within reach of extremely poor households.
- Relevance: Products must reflect the day-to-day realities of cooking and lighting practices, not abstract technical ideals.
These lessons remind us that fragile markets are not closed markets. They are untapped markets waiting for approaches that respect community realities, balance affordability with quality, and create space for companies to test and refine their models.
From Aid Dependency to Market Resilience
BrightLife and ILF’s experiences show that private sector engagement in refugee settlements is not only possible but can be transformative. Yet, businesses perceive these communities as risky due to limited capital, poor credit histories, and weak infrastructure. Without external support, they hesitate to enter.
This is where programs like SMILES can have a catalytic role. Offering risk-sharing mechanisms, performance-based subsidies, and targeted technical support can create the conditions for private sector actors to innovate and invest.
