This thesis analyses how a payment system affects the diffusion of renewable electricity in rural
Uganda. A case study is used provided by a start-up company named Pamoja Cleantech. This
company is about to sell electricity, which is generated by biomass-based gasification, to a lowincome
community. Several households are already connected to the established mini-grid while the
majority is still not served. A chasm has been identified between the users in the rural village. The
reason for this gap between adopters is the high connection fee and a lack of transparent
communication. Therefore, diffusion theory has been used to analyse the impact of several paymentrelated
solutions that could close this chasm. First of all, a set of critical factors have been identified
concerning general electricity adoption in the case. Those are reliability, trust, transparent
communication and satisfying the needs of the local people. Additionally, it has been shown that a
payment system, tariffs, and investment costs must satisfy specific requirements in order to be
effective, efficient, and positively affect the rate of adoption. These are requirements such as dealing
with the cultural incompetence of people being able to save money and to overcome their
understanding to have electricity as a status symbol. Therefore an existing technology with its
infrastructure is proposed to use: mobile banking. Since this technology has already penetrated
Uganda, its convenience to use and satisfaction is high. Additionally, it has advantages such as saving
time, security, reliability, and not much space for fraud. This thesis is based on a theoretical
framework that is empirically tested and will provide a description of this specific situation in Uganda.
Also, it proposes several management recommendations for the company in order to convert adduced
threats into opportunities and strengthen their current inclusive business model.