Investor FAQ
Village Infrastructure Angels Ltd, registered in the United Kingdom. VIA has a $1 Million risk guarantee provided by USAID’s Powering Agriculture.
VIA is working to bring basic infrastructure to the most remote of off-grid communities. This infrastructure includes modern lighting, mobile phone charging and other household energy uses, as well as agro-processing. Renewable energy is key to all of VIA’s work and this currently includes both solar and hydroelectric modes of energy generation.
VIA operates at the intersection of GIS consulting, renewable energy products designed for off-grid communities, and pay-as-you-go financing. Each part of this equation is critical to the success of VIA’s projects and no one else is currently working in this space.
Problem 1 – households without electricity must spend around 1 hour per day manually processing their crops, reducing the time that can be spent on more productive activities.
Problem 2 – households without electricity have to travel 2-20 km to a nearby diesel or grid-powered mill 1-2 times per month to have their crops processed, which costs approximately $1 per 25-50 kg bag for processing but also up to $1 per bag for travel. Hence, small villages that do not have a mill may spend up to 100% more on agro-processing than households in large villages.
Problem 3 – households lack other services electricity can provide, such as clean and safe lighting (kerosene lamps are often used) and access to communications.
VIA is registered in the United Kingdom but is currently operating mainly out of Vanuatu
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VIA has a $1 Million risk guarantee provided by USAID’s Powering Agriculture, as well as _ worth of equipment in the field in Vanuatu and Indonesia.
Please see our “Who We Are” page
We are happy to share this with you but since it is sensitive information, please email stewart@villageinfrastructure.org to request the materials you need.
No.
Once VIA is linked with a local partner in a country, the team uses GIS satellite technology to identify off-grid communities that are also far from agro-milling facilities. The team will then visit the chosen communities and present the products and financing opportunities. Each community is given the chance to opt in and decide which milling facilities they will need.