Financing Solar Infrastructure in Somaliland: Investigating the Potential for Communal and Crowdfunded Solutions

A combination of crowdfunding and modular electrification is explored as potential means to provide core infrastructure. Through a mixed-methods design, this research investigated the possibility of civic crowdfunding to provide financing for hybrid-microgrid development in Burao, Somaliland. Three questions are asked in this thesis: 1) What explains the absence of quality electricity infrastructure in Somaliland?; 2) Are solar based, decentralized, community supported infrastructure systems a viable option to meet service delivery gaps?; and, 3) What are the opportunities and limits of alternative funding mechanisms such as crowdfunding to pay for community infrastructure? Elements and mechanism from neo-institutional theory are used to explore these questions.

This research shows that while the technology is available and feasible in Somaliland, barriers exist: agency and technical capacity. An adapted concept is put forward consisting of applying the combination of crowdfunding and hagbad (revolving-group financing scheme) to purchasing higher capacity Solar Home Systems for households.