困難……

????短期內，太陽能發展的雄心仍然將面臨諸多挑戰。平價太陽尚能處于初期。普及率仍然相當低。據泰斯稱，在d.Light運營的大多數國家，太陽能使用量都沒有超過5%。超過10%根本無從談起。

????這是典型的商業挑戰：如何說服客戶嘗試新事物？對于非洲的太陽能公司，更加糟糕的是，隨時可能連夜卷起包袱走人的競爭對手們向市場注入了大量廉價的仿制產品。“我們看到更多的中國仿制產品在市場中出現，”林麥克說。“有賣假電池的，還有假的太陽能電池板。這種垃圾破壞了這個市場。”

????即便客戶愿意購買太陽能產品，這些公司也依然面臨一項銷售挑戰：購買者或許手頭沒有足夠的現金。舉個例子，Fenix的ReadySet售價約150美元。這個價格對于普通烏干達人可是一大筆錢。世界銀行（World Bank）的數據顯示，烏干達2011年人均國民總收入（GNI）經購買力平價調整后為1,320美元。農村的收入水平甚至更低。根據烏干達統計局2009-2010年度的數據，北方農村地區的年收入不足全國平均水平的一半。

????太陽能公司的應對之策是制訂“即付即用”計劃或內部融資。Fenix最近開始向購買ReadySet的客戶提供微型貸款。據林麥克稱，他的公司迄今已發放了50,000萬美元的信用貸款。

????對于在撒哈拉以南非洲地區經營的太陽能公司，最煩人的問題是分銷。很多農村地區的客戶很難接觸，可能也不怎么了解太陽能發電。在這些地區，太陽能公司盡可能與成熟的零售商合作。但這也有其限制。比如，非洲最大的電信提供商MTN在其零售網點銷售ReadySet，但這些零售店大部分都集中在城市地區。

????“只有很小比例的潛在客戶正在使用太陽能，”漢德勒說。

????她說，至少現在，像煤油等常見的能源解決方案仍然占據著主導地位。

????“我們必須創建一個全新的市場，”泰斯承認這是一個巨大的挑戰。“我們正在從零開始建設全新的分銷渠道。”

A few kinks …

????Yet in the near term, a number of challenges will check this ambition. Affordable solar is in a nascent stage. Adoption is still quite low. According to Tice, in most of the countries in which d.Light operates, solar use doesn't top 5%. Nowhere is it greater than 10%.

????This is a typical business challenge: How do you convince customers to try something new? For solar companies in Africa, this is aggravated when fly-by-night competitors dump cheap knockoffs into the market. "We're seeing more Chinese generics show up," Lin said. "You have fake batteries being sold. And fake solar panels. That kind of garbage undermines the market."

????Even when customers are willing to buy solar products, these companies face a sales challenge: purchasers may not have enough cash on hand. For example, Fenix's ReadySet costs about $150. For an average Ugandan, that's a serious investment. According to the World Bank, Uganda's 2011 Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, adjusted for purchasing power parity, was $1,320. In villages, income levels are even lower. In the rural north, according to 2009-2010 data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, annual income is less than half the national average.

????Companies have responded by developing "pay-as-you-go" plans or in-house financing. Fenix recently started to offer microloans to customers purchasing the ReadySet. According to Lin, the company has to date extended $50,000 in credit.

????For solar companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, among the most vexing problems is distribution. In many rural areas, customers are hard-to-reach and may have had little exposure to solar power. Where solar companies can, they team up with established retailers. But this has its limits. For example, while MTN, Africa's largest telecommunications provider, sells the ReadySet through its retail outlets, those outlets are for the most part concentrated in urban areas.

????"Only a very small percentage of potential customers are using solar," said Handler.

????At least for now, she said, familiar energy solutions, like kerosene, remain king.

????"We're having to create a whole new market," said Tice, acknowledging the challenge. "We're creating from scratch entirely new distribution channels."