Does solar home system promote entrepreneurship in off-grid areas?

In Côte d’Ivoire, only 31.3% of peoples living in rural areas have access to the grid electricity. With the potential of solar energy of the country, the solar home system provides a crucial alternative that is being exploited by households. This paper analyses the effect of the adoption of solar home system on entrepreneurship in off-grid areas using the data from the 2015’s Living Standard Measurement Survey of Côte d’Ivoire. The estimates show that access to solar home system increases by 6.5% points the probability of engaging in entrepreneurial activities. This result holds for the trade, industry, and service sectors, while there is no evidence for the agricultural sector. Hence, the expansion of solar home system – as alternative to electricity grid in off-grid areas – has benefits for alleviating poverty via the promotion of entrepreneurship.