In December 2018, the Government of Kenya (GoK) launched its National Electrification Strategy to achieve its goal of universal energy access by 2022. Kenya has seen rapid increases in electrification over the past few years, increasing grid access for Kenyan households from a rate of 25% in 2011 to 64.5% in 2018, according to Power Africa (2018). Despite this, there remain large inequities in electricity provision, with close to 95% of the population not having access to electricity in rural parts of the country (Willcox et al., 2015). While Kenya has a rapidly growing and innovative solar market, most of the large solar suppliers are concentrated in the western and central parts of the country, with limited supply networks in rural areas (Energy4Impact et al., 2018). Further, solar devices are relatively expensive products and even when products are available the poorest households will remain excluded due to the issue of product affordability.

The GoK has made significant progress in building the National Safety Net Programme, which has expanded cash transfers to the most vulnerable segments of the population. In 2020, the GoK transferred Kenya shillings (KSH) 4,000 (approximately US$ 37) to over 1 million households on a bimonthly basis. Over the next five years, the GoK has prioritised the ‘cash plus’ agenda, based on the assumption that the impacts on households’ well-being are greater if cash transfers are complemented and linked with other interventions and programmes. The ‘cash plus’ agenda hopes to help households to diversify their incomes, improve access to essential services, such as energy services, and improve their well-being in terms of education and health outcomes, among others.