Ghana now has over 90% electricity access. That is a remarkable achievement. But in many rural communities, having access to energy and actually using it are two very different things and that gap is costing us more than we realise.
In some areas, energy systems are installed and left largely unused. Households continue burning charcoal and diesel not because clean energy is unavailable, but because the systems introduced do not align with their economic realities. The clean energy transition stalls. The investment goes to waste.
The problem is not technology. Solar systems and mini-grids exist. The real barrier is how these solutions are financed, sustained, and connected to the daily lives of the people they are meant to serve.
Our latest insight brief, From Access to Utilization, digs into why access alone is no longer enough and what the path forward actually looks like for rural Ghana.