Giving Compass' Take:

• This NextBillion post reports on the influence that microentrepreneurs can have on social change in rural areas and how last-mile deliveries can help; Kopernik manages programs to support such community networks.

• A pilot program in Myanmar provided some lessons in how technology distribution helps local people connect and thrive, forming more social cohesion. What can we do to replicate this effort?

• Here's the case for funding peacebuilding, which is tied to social cohesion.

As billions of people still struggle to gain access to stable electricity, many actors in the development sector have recently looked to clean energy technology distribution initiatives to bridge the gap. The model for these last mile distribution programs is generally similar: They are initiated with the support of philanthropic money, with the aim that market forces will eventually bolster a sustainable supply chain. Such technology distribution and adoption initiatives are usually supported by a trusted local network of microentrepreneurs.

Still, the beauty of these technology programs is that they can be framed in many different ways, from supporting microentrepreneurship and market development to women’s empowerment and climate change.

Similarly, Kopernik works to find practical and effective solutions that address common challenges faced by communities in remote and rural areas. With our Wonder Women initiative, for instance, Kopernik manages a distribution program that focuses on empowering women microentrepreneurs in distributing technology to communities living in the fringes of eastern Indonesia. Solar Sister, which predominantly operates in Africa, manages a similar model.

In 2016, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with Mercy Corps initiated a 16-month pilot program — “Innovative Technologies for Rural Communities” — in Myanmar, utilizing technology distribution as an avenue to strengthen social cohesion. The initiative targeted 100 villages in the states of Kayin, Mon and Shan, working with women and youth as microentrepreneurs in promoting the clean technologies, such as solar lanterns and clean cook stoves.

Read the full article about lessons in last-mile deliveries by Tomohiro Hamakawa and Vanesha Manuturi at NextBillion.