Infrastructure Development Company Ltd. (IDCOL), a Bangladesh government finance institution, has been instrumental in scaling-up electricity access through off-grid solar home systems across the country. This public-private partnership has successfully rolled out approximately 4.1 million solar home systems since 2003, using innovative financial and technology packages. However the IDCOL’s solar home systems programme has had to modify its original design in order to adapt to changing market conditions. In recent years, a fall in the price of solar technology, new government subsidies, and the extension of grid to rural areas have combined to reduce the number of solar home systems being purchased through the IDCOL scheme. The Bangladesh case provides an example of a programme that successfully kick-started the market for solar home systems, but also is a cautionary tale of an initiative that was less successful in evolving rapidly enough in response to the changing market environment.
Case summary: Bangladesh’s IDCOL solar programme
This work was carried out under the Infrastructure and Cities for Economic Development (ICED) facility.
ICED supported DFID country offices, central teams and ODA-spending Other Government Departments to deliver DFID’s Economic Development Strategy by scaling up programming and investment in infrastructure and cities. It operated between February 2016 and July 2019.
