- Who are the biggest users of electricity in Malawi (segmented by urban/rural, business/government/residential)? What types of businesses provide biggest current demand?
- How do they get access to power? How much is local generator-based vs national grid-based?
- What is the state of Malawi's national electric grid and generating capacity? How frequent does load shedding occur? Do variations in weather patters affect blackout schedules (due to reliance on hydropower)? What is the actual status of the planned inter-connection to Mozambique's grid?
- How much does electricity cost in Malawi? How does this vary by customer, if at all (urban/rural, business/government/residential)? How much do generators cost in Malawi, and what are their capabilities and useful lives? Any issues with maintenance and spare parts that we should be cognizant of?
- Deeper dive into Malawi government's efforts around the promotion of biofuels in general and jatropha production in particular.
- Deeper dive into international comparison of potentially viable biofuels crops -- yields, cost, production cycles, uses, "sustainability".
- How are people in analogous countries using biofuels in electrification? What are typical uses and processing steps, and what are the economics of this production?
- Are there binding regulatory issues associated with the use of biofuels that we should be aware of?
- What about distributed energy systems? Are there viable solar power systems and business models that can be profitable for local, rural power needs?
- What is the laundry list of potential revenue-generating uses of small-scale electricity generation (biofuels-based or not) in villages in Malawi? Is biodiesel production and sales viable in Malawi?
MLF-specific
Coverage in the country -- locations and size of loan portfolio (# of borrowers, size of loans);
Have the "experienced" groups of borrowers been identified? Where are they located?
Are there gender issues? Do the potential business models need to be restricted to men?