Powering The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Solar mini-grids are an attractive solution for improving energy access in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the grid is very national electricity rate was around 19% in 2022. But identifying and prioritising potential sites was challenging due to the limited availability of relevant data and the country’s vast and complex terrain.

The DRC Government, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), used VIDA to identify a prioritised list of potential mini-grids across the country. Using satellite data and on-the-ground surveys, VIDA analysed 7,000+ potential mini-grid sites. The government identified the size of settlements, the number of potential connections, distance to the national grid as well as contextual information such as agricultural activity, conflict and proximity to trade centers. Based on this, they successfully created a shortlist of 184 towns to be given electrification priority.

VIDA is used similarly in dozens of countries including Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Lesotho, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Pakistan, Chad, Niger and more.