In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) energy poverty is a widely spread challenge and access to energy is a key imperative for economic development. With the exponential population growth in the region the pressure on the energy that is available grows and the numbers on energy poverty rise. In an effort to promote change, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, set by the United Nations (UN), encourages to make access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy possible for all. With the global agenda on sustainable energy access and the energy market gap in SSA, entrepreneurs are seeing opportunities. Both local and international entrepreneurs are finding their way in the SSA energy sector.

The 2021 status update from the UN on SDG 7 shows the progress regarding the development of energy access for all is not on track for many countries in SSA. With the time ticking on the SDGs timeline (goals should be achieved by 2030) more research should be done into investigating why entrepreneurs seem to be unable to reach substantial progress with regards to providing sustainable energy. This research aimed to discover the drivers and challenges local and international entrepreneurs are facing in their mission of brining sustainable energy to countries in SSA.

Lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries used for electric-rickshaw in India fail far short of their expected battery lifespan. Also, the materials being used have unfavorable consequences for the environment. A new type of battery made from sea salt has recently been invented. The sea salt battery could potentially be a better, cheaper, and greener battery. This thesis aimed to explore the feasibility of the sea salt battery technology for electric rickshaws in New Delhi, India, in order to answer the following main research question: How can the sea salt battery become a feasible technology for electric rickshaws in New Delhi, India?

This study showed that energy density, and thus range, is one of the most important parameters for evaluating e-rickshaw batteries. Furthermore, the literature and case study demonstrated that the Indian battery market is highly price sensitive, which makes a low energy cost per kWh of battery storage very important when aiming to be competitive. In contrast, the sea salt battery showed positive results in other aspects. The study showed that the sea salt battery outperformed commercial batteries, in terms of cycle life. More simulations and lab research need to be done on this, but this could potentially save drivers a lot of costs, if they have to buy a new battery much less frequently. In addition, it was found that the sea salt battery is suitable to be placed in an e-rickshaw. Furthermore, outcomes of the case study showed that it is desirable to integrate the sea salt battery with a BMS system, which facilitates and improves the operations of the e-rickshaw operators. Due to the very low toxicity of the sea salt battery, compared with its competitors, the sea salt battery performs very positively in terms of social acceptance. To conclude, sea salt batteries are feasible for use in e-rickshaws if the energy density and cost per kWh of battery storage are improved and come close to that of commercial batteries. The sea salt battery is an environmentally friendly battery source that, due to its long life and performance in hot climates, could potentially be promising for e-rickshaw drivers in India.

The improvement of access to clean water is considered one of the world’s major agenda issues nowadays. The agenda to improve water access is not only considering the quantity of water but also the quality of water that should be provided for the society. The problem of the water crisis is happening in many countries around the world and needs a feasible solution. One of the regions that suffer most of the clean water crisis is the Middle-East and North-Africa. Furthermore, most of the water crisis problems are happening in the countries that are having a conflict, for example, Palestine, Iraq, and Syria. In this thesis, the case of clean water crisis will be focused on the West Bank, Palestine. The clean water crisis covers several problems that are not only focusing on technical problems but also on the governance and business opportunity problems in situations where conflicts taking place. Furthermore, this thesis only focuses on the business opportunities of water desalination and purification system in the West Bank. The goal is to develop business models for implementing the CED system in West Bank. The research also explores the cultural values and institutions of the society in the West Bank, with regard to their effects on the feasibility determination of the business model for CED in the West Bank.