People working next to solar panels

Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia

Customer insights for implementing energy service subscriptions in Zambia.

83%

‘very much improved’ quality of life

85%

first time accessing service provided

86%

no access to a good alternative

In 2021, we worked with Nefco to conduct an independent verification of the Beyond the Grid Fund for Zambia (BGFZ).  Our aim was to verify the Energy Service Subscriptions (ESS) offered by the providers under the fund and to capture customer insights, from customer profiles to satisfaction and experience. To achieve this, we completed over 600 phone surveys with randomly selected customers of four participating Energy Service Providers (ESP) across Zambia.

We found that ESPs were performing particularly well in providing first-time users with products that improve quality of life compared to the 60dB Energy Benchmarks. ESPs achieved an average NPS of 69, which is considered high. 4 in 5 users were accessing the energy product or service for the first time, significantly higher than the 60dB Energy Benchmark of 63%. 

“Our aim was to verify the Energy Service Subscriptions (ESS) offered by the providers under the fund and to capture customer insights, from customer profiles to satisfaction and experience.”

– Anna Maj Hultgård, Ambassador, Embassy of Sweden in Lusaka, Zambia

However, there is room for improvement in customer challenge rates, issue resolution and customer service. ESPs received a low Customer Effort Score of 3.1, measuring customer service. We also surveyed customer profiles, finding that male adults were most likely to influence the decision to purchase a solar home system, while female adults were most likely to influence the decision to purchase a stove.

To learn more about our findings, take a look at the report below. 

Read the full report
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