The EU funded Light Up Liberia Program implemented by Mercy Corps aims to strengthen the solar market with support for marketing, networking and access to finance. Another component aims to implement solar pico-grids.
Various vendors sell small solar products (Pico PV) such as solar lanterns or small solar home systems. Most are for providing light while many also have the capacity to charge phones. Some of those lamps come from neighboring countries and/or include cheap some low-quality products. However, more and more solar retailers or sales agents who organize themselves in the Liberia Energy Access Practitioner (LEAP) Network offer certified lighting global products.
The third component of the Liberia Renewable Energy Access Project (LIRENAP) finances the development of a national market for solar systems. The aim is access to modern energy services to over 100,000 people through strengthening the retail network and facilitating the transfer of procurement and import responsibilities from RREA to the private sector. Also, demand-side constraints are to be addressed.
In rural Liberia, students struggle to prepare for their examinations without access to electricity after sunset. Yocel, an educational youth organization, collaborated with GIZ/EnDev to inform around 600 students about solar energy and solar lamps. The partnership then established a system that would allow 9th graders and 12th graders to borrow solar lamps.