Thought should be given to the needs of the community and ensuring broad local support.

It is important for mini-grid developers to take time to understand the needs and priorities of the communities in which their mini-grids are located and to make sure that the projects have broad local support.

Developers should consider the governance structure of the community, communication between the developer and the community on issues such as tariffs and system usage, and whether the community should participate in the ownership of the mini-grid.

Developers will also need to develop a strategy for customer service management and end user contracts.

Customer service management is important for developers to:

• Have a holistic understanding of connected customers;
• Manage their questions and complaints; and
• Reduce the potential for conflict with the community.