Video: Solar-Powered Mini-Grids Bring Security and New Economic Opportunities in Ghana

Ghana provides electricity for 83% of its population, the second highest rate in Sub-Saharan Africa, but connecting isolated areas to the grid has proved very difficult. The solution: investing in solar-powered mini-grids like this one, built with support from IDA, the World Bank Group's fund for the poorest. In the towns around the Volta River, 10,000 Ghanaians now enjoy uninterrupted power, which enhances security and brings new economic opportunities. "It was difficult operating my business when we didn't have access to electricity. I can now work at night and my business has greatly improved", says seamstress Agather Abotse.

GPRBA supplemented the IDA-supported project in Ghana by financing the purchase of solar home systems for communities even further away from the grid, and where mini-grids are not yet a viable option. Through GPRBA's intervention, 14,250 households in some of the most isolated rural communities now have access to reliable and affordable energy for the first time.