PASIDA Think Tank · Policy Brief · 2026
Licensing at speed: mini-grid regulation in West Africa
How tariff-setting and concession design determine whether mini-grid programmes reach financial close — and what regulators can change first.
Key findings
Licensing timelines, not capital cost, are the binding constraint in three of the four sample markets.
Cost-reflective tariffs paired with targeted subsidy outperform uniform national tariffs.
Grid-arrival compensation rules materially change developer risk pricing.
Methodology
Comparative regulatory review across four markets with developer interviews (illustrative dataset).