The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) identified that the exploitation of forest resources and the burning of wood for fuel as some of the key threats to the survival of the forest ecosystem and local biodiversity in India. It envisaged that transitioning people in remote rural India from wood-based fuel to clean energy would minimize deforestation and the threat to biodiversity. WWF also envisaged that access to clean energy might be limited in such communities because of the upfront cost of adoption. The challenge for WWF was to validate its hypothesis through research and reach out to a community of financial institutions to support its objectives.

In 2014, MSC undertook a study based on the hypothesis formulated by WWF. It studied and documented the nuances of financing mass-market clean energy solutions. The study involved a range of stakeholder interviews including microfinance institutions, banks, NGOs, clean energy solution providers, and sectoral experts. The result of the study was an exhaustive guidance note on financing access to clean energy by pivoting the distribution prowess and financial strength of the grassroots financial organization.

Energy systems, policy support, gender-responsive solutions

The Government of India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in 2016. This program seeks to address the need for clean cooking fuel for 50 million households, especially in the country’s rural and remote areas. The PMUY offered a direct cash subsidy to incentivize households to shift permanently from polluting cooking fuels to LPG. The MoPNG’s challenge was to reach the initial target of 50 million beneficiaries and ensure behavior change, which would lead to LPG’s adoption as a permanent alternative to pollution-emitting cooking fuels.

MSC assessed the implementation in three phases from 2016 to 2018. The research team interviewed 574 PMUY beneficiaries across 124 villages and 44 districts in India.

The assessments enabled us to get the following insights:

• Understand the behavioral triggers that facilitate the adoption of a cleaner energy source;
• Identify the deterrents that prevent the regular refilling of LPG cylinders;
• Identify the reasons for the continued coexistence of LPG and unclean fuels;
• Determine the please impact on gender equilibrium, as women are the program’s primary beneficiaries;
• Recommend measures to the MoPNG to ensure the continued usage of LPG cylinders and permanent abolition of polluting cooking fuels.

MSC published the recommendations as a policy brief, which we presented to the key stakeholders. After the study’s first phase, the Ministry accepted MSC’s recommendations and started the nationwide LPG safety campaign targeted at PMUY beneficiaries. MSC’s interventions helped the program enroll 92 million rural households up to April 2022. MSC estimates that even a 30% switchover to LPG will reduce annual emissions by 6.14 million metric tons at this scale. 

The Gates Foundation and the MoPNG commissioned this project.

Driving the adoption of climate and disaster risk insurance products across the globe is a persistent challenge for international development agencies. Due to its size, location, and numerous countries with low socio-demographic indicators, and complex financial markets, Asia poses the greatest challenge. Climate change has already exacerbated the number and scale of disaster events in Asia. Hence, stakeholders need to understand the current landscape of CDRI products and work toward scaling up its adoption.

Against this background, MSC undertook an analysis of the status of climate and disaster risk insurance (CDRI) across 22 countries in South and Southeast Asia. We collaborated with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Regulatory Framework Promotion of Pro-Poor Insurance Markets in Asia (RFPI-Asia). MSC undertook robust secondary research on the existing policy and regulatory environments around CDRI and existing CDRI solutions at the macro, meso, and micro levels. The findings were further complemented with key informant interviews across Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Barefoot College commissioned MSC to support its Solar Sakhis—women champions of solar energy products. Our support involved the development of an HR strategy, lending products and methodology, scoring tools, digital repayment solutions, technology integration, and training. MSC conducted field research and thereafter developed a solar business vertical and designed youth-focused product concepts and processes. At the time of writing, we were working on a credit-scoring tool, repayment solutions, and capacity-building of young Solar Sakhis.

MSC supported YouthSave through its Market Insights for Innovation and Design (MI4ID) approach, which incorporates principles of behavioral economics and human-centered design. This included research, data analysis, product strategy development, and the development of the product prototype. Based on the product prototype, the Bank of Kathmandu (BoK) launched the “BoK Chetanshil Yuwa Bachat Yojana” (BoK savings plan for conscientious youth) across the bank’s 43 branches in April, 2012. By the start of 2013, it had already created 5,207 youth accounts successfully.

MSC conducted a research study to understand the demand for financial products among youth in central Java. The aim was to capture youth perception of existing products, compare their financial needs with current products of Plan International, and suggest suitable financial products for youth. Our research formed the basis for a youth savings product for young women, which was pilot tested with one of the largest cooperatives in Indonesia. The insights from the pilot were used to design and customize its larger economic empowerment initiative for youth in Indonesia.