An optimal business model for a new energy innovation in the Sichem centre in Dzogblakopé Lomé (Togo)

Abstract

Sichem is a rural centre in Togo that engages in activities that contribute to the development of the villages surrounding it. The centre has an electricity problem: the network knows many breakdowns of sometimes hours. Due to this, the planned activities sometimes need to be cancelled or rescheduled. Therefore, a renewable energy installation is built by two engineering students, consisting of 6 solar panels and 4 batteries, which helps to overcome breakdowns and to provide emergency lighting at night. The installation also demands extra maintenance efforts from Sichem, which is crucial to ensure long term usage. The overall objective of this master thesis was therefore to design a business model for a renewable energy innovation, a powerbank, that creates enough motivation for Sichem for the maintenance by inducing a revenue stream that stops when the installation breaks down. Therefore, the willingness to pay for three different powerbanks was estimated using the double-bounded dichotomous choice method. The powerbank that can charge mobile phones, power a radio and provide lighting was chosen as most promising. The calculated WTP of this option amounts to 4,459.98 CFA per rental. The business model comprises a rental system with 20 powerbanks for families of five surrounding villages for the price of 2,500 CFA and an upfront deposit of 1,500 CFA. Sichem would make 6,515,000 CFA profit over 15 years, which enables them to replace broken powerbanks or to expand the system.