Lesson Learned

Flexible payment modalities were beneficial for poor households to gain a connection.

Flexible payment modalities were beneficial for poor households to gain a connection. Under FAS, households that were selected to receive a subsidized connection were required to make a contribution toward the cost of connecting to the network. One of the NGOs implementing this activity recognized that requiring monetary contributions from households could be a barrier for poor households regardless of how inexpensive the contributions may be. The interim evaluation found that permitting households to contribute through labor and/or other in-kind payment helped to both maintain a lower project budget and generate local ownership over works. Projects should include options for flexible payment modalities where participant contributions are a requirement.