SPIS Toolbox - Evaluate the Business Environment
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3. Evaluate the Business Environment
While adoption of SPIS within a region may be feasible from a geophysical perspective, the operative business environment plays a key role in the actual uptake of the technology. There are various factors that contribute to an enabling environment for the adoption of SPIS, and whose significance varies with the entity promoting SPIS adoption. The 9 parameters presented in this chapter are seen to play the most significant role.
3.1 Government Interventions
3.2 Development Organization Interventions
3.3 Financing
3.4 Availability and Cost of Alternative Fuels
3.5 Technical Capacity
3.6 Awareness of Solar PV Technology
3.7 Significance of Agriculture in the Local Economy
Land Access and Tenure
is an agribusiness, land is at its foundation and it is therefore important to determine land rights, land access and land tenure terms in an area under assessment. Therefore, it is key for an area to have a pragmatic land policy environment. A desirable land policy is one that has emphasis on land access and development, secure property rights, is backed by reliable information and has clear permitting processes. A proper land policy has the land administration services including surveys and mapping, land use planning, rural and urban development, housing and market information service providers well established. Paucity of information about the laws, procedures and/or information required to safely and legally complete land and real estate transactions creates uncertainty and discourages investments.
Land access is defined by the availability of land with the required security of ownership, desirable physical and economic attributes and level of transparency and fairness in transactions.
Land tenure is the institutional structure that determines the political, economic and social framework by which individuals and groups secure access to land and associated resources. The absence of reliable information to guide rapidly expanding land market is, by far, the most persistent bottleneck undermining long-term development in most countries.
Clear tenure rights are an important consideration when investing into SPIS. Not only do they provide investment security, but may also serve as collateral when applying for loans. For some countries, there are clear demarcations between commercial land (with fixed title deeds) and communal lands (with only informal land use rights and agricultural practices limited to subsistence farming).
Outcome/Product
- Country land ownership patterns and statistics
Data Requirement
- Land access and tenure rights in the country
People/Stakeholders
- Government Ministries especially that of land
Transport and Communication Infrastructure
Infrastructure is an organizational system of resources that is needed for a society or business to run. Transportation infrastructure such as roads, harbours, airports and rail, and telecommunication infrastructure are physical systems that are needed for efficient operations within a country or region.
Transport infrastructure determines the ease of movement of goods and people. Lack of transportation infrastructure (e.g in deep rural areas and islands) can have significant cost impacts - inefficient transport systems make it difficult to obtain inputs and to deliver products to customers affecting scalability and quality of services. For SPIS market potential, good transport infrastructure would mean reduced costs of system installation as well as easier access to skilled labour for installation and maintenance. Additionally, lower transportation costs could lead to better allocation of funds in running businesses and ease of access to new markets. Good physical connectivity in the urban and rural areas is therefore essential for SPIS users.
Communication infrastructure (especially mobile phone connectivity) would be relevant to SPIS as indicative of access to mobile banking in rural areas and implementing monitoring devices in SPIS. Mobile phone use can also be used as a proxy indicator for income levels. Mobile phone usage in rural areas also shows the users can access services such as agricultural information and financial services such as mobile remittances and loans.
Outcome/Product
- Assessment of transport and communication infrastructure
Data Requirement
- Data on transport network especially roads in rural areas
- Data on mobile penetration particularly in rural areas
People/Stakeholders
- Government ministry of transport and communication
- World Bank ease of doing business report
