Wholesalers for beneficial products: The missing link for impact at the last mile
Last mile distributors of off-grid solar (OGS) standalone products report finding it increasingly difficult to identify and procure quality, price-competitive products, due to challenges throughout the value chain. There is an opportunity for a wholesale model to tackle these challenges by centralising demand and importing a portfolio of quality products in bulk. The Global Distributors Collective (GDC), in partnership with established wholesaler Sollatek Kenya, launched a pilot to explore what it would take to set up such a model. This report summarises the key insights and learnings drawn from the pilot, with the objective to inform the sector on the key success criteria and support needed to launch a wholesale model for quality-assured beneficial products, in the OGS sector and potentially beyond.