ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 provides an overview of the foreign aid infrastructures that influence the business models of renewable energy enterprises (REEs) in emerging markets. Specifically, it discusses the challenges associated with aid, as described by the REEs themselves, and its effects on their independence, self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability (or lack thereof) in emerging markets. The focus of the chapter is what I describe as features of a problematic Aid-Centric Business Model used by REEs, which reflects the enterprises’ dependency on aid grants and contracts for revenue and legitimacy. I conclude the chapter with what I propose is a much-needed Aid-Independent Logic of Value Creation that allows REEs to co-create value with end-users and other stakeholders while maintaining independence from aid and therefore overall self-sufficiency in emerging markets.
