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Case Details

Case Code: LDEN141
Case Length: 16 Pages 
Period: 2010-2018   
Pub Date: 2019
Teaching Note: Available
Price: Rs.400
Organization : Iluméxico
Industry :Energy
Countries : Mexico
Themes: Entrepreneurship/ Technology in Social Enterprise/ Stakeholder Management/ Business Models
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Leadership & Entrepreneurship

Iluméxico: Fighting Energy Poverty in Mexico

 
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EXCERPTS

ABOUT ILUMÉXICO

 

Banuet, a native of Mexico City, had confidence in his entrepreneurial spirit. Ever since he was young, his dream was to start his own business. While in college at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , he took part in the ‘Goldman Sachs Global Leaders’ program and attended the 2007 ‘Global Leadership Summit’ in New York. There, Banuet bumped into an inspirational group of people who were involved in matters connected to environment change and the climate. This piqued his interest in those issues. After returning to Mexico, he founded the ‘Environment and Energy Society’ or SOEMA (Sociedad de Energía y Medio Ambiente or Student Group for Energy and Environment) with others from his university. SOEMA conducted awareness events, conferences, and other projects in support of issues such as reforestation, recycling, and wind energy. SOEMA also received the support of the Mexican government...

 
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SUSTAINABLE FINANCING AND INSTITUTIONAL SUPORT

Iluméxico initiated its operations with grants acquired via awards, government support, and private funds that supported such social projects. It started off with a US$ 32,250 pilot project that provided 40 solar energy systems in the region of Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, which was financed with the Santander prize. In 2011, Iluméxico was able to leverage the successful results of its first project to secure a US$ 375,000 grant through the Government of Mexico’s ‘Fund for Energy Transition and Sustainable Use of Energy’. This fund was supervised by representatives from the Energy Secretariat (SENER) , CFE, etc. With the grant, the scaled-up project called ‘Programa de Iluminación rural 2011–2012’ was started by Iluméxico. The project focused on providing solar energy systems to 1,050 households in rural communities in the Mexican states of Campeche, Guerrero, and Veracruz from 2011 to 2012...
 

ILUMÉXICO’S BUSINESS MODEL

As of July 2012, around 1,200 photovoltaic devices had been installed by Iluméxico, benefitting more than 6,000 people. Initially, Iluméxico’s solar systems were developed for homes. Later, their use was extended to power entire schools or community centers, a street, or air conditioning for medical clinics. While the electrification projects for lighting schools or community centers were termed ILUEscuelas and ILUComunidades, the electrification projects for health clinics were termed ILUClínicas...
 

AFFORDABILITY AND FINANCING

Iluméxico customers could either pay the full amount for the solar energy systems or adopt a low interest payment plan at a total annualized cost of 35%-50% over a period of one year. The majority of the customers opted for the low-interest payment plan. This finance facility was offered through TelecommTelégrafos (Telecomm). Telecomm managed the monthly loan payments for rural customers using its network of local branches which were located near Iluméxico’s rural customers...
 

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Iluméxico had rural branches that were called ‘ILUCentros’ that were located in different areas of Mexico. Local teams worked in coordination with ILUCentros. ILUCentros provided a localized service to users, apart from finding new communities that lacked access to the electricity grid and offering them the company’s products. After solar energy systems (SESs) were purchased, local ILUCentros technicians provided an installation check to support ideal installation and usage of SES. They offered technical support, spare parts, and other services such as battery replacement...
 

STRATEGIC ALLIANCES

In December 2016, Iluméxico partnered with SunPower Corporation and installed 150 solar panels of 320W in homes and three 640W systems in public buildings in the towns of San José Tipceh and Plan Chac during the first half of 2017. In January 2017, Iluméxico was certified as a qualified supplier by the Mexican Ministry of Energy and was allocated the task of installing 1,263 solar energy systems in homes, schools, community centers, and health centers across Mexico. ..
 

ACHIVEMENTS OF ILUMÉXICO

In 2010, Iluméxico sold solar energy equipment for less than MXN$ 1 million. Gradually, the revenue from the sale of equipment grew to MXN$ 3 million and in 2012, the figure jumped to MXN$ 7 million. In 2013, there was a significant decrease (MXN$ 3 million) due to a change in government. That year, the new president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, passed energy reforms, ending the state monopoly on petroleum by opening the oil and gas industries to private investment...
 

CHALLENGES

Analysts opined that maintaining a continuous rapport with the Mexican Government to handle its operations was a big challenge for Iluméxico. Any change in the government after elections or bureaucratic changes were expected to lead to changes in the relationship between Iluméxico and the concerned authorities...
 

THE ROAD AHEAD

As of 2017, Iluméxico had 53 fulltime employees, 29 community ambassadors, three national volunteers, and nine international volunteers spread across different states like Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero, Nayarit, and various states in the north and south of Mexico. There were 21 women employees, comprising 40% of the workforce...
 

EXHIBITS

Exhibit I: Mexico Rural Market Snapshot of Socio Economic Profile as of 2014-2017
Exhibit II: Benefits of Solar Energy
Exhibit III: Achievements and Awards Won by Banuet
Exhibit IV: Products Offered by Iluméxico
Exhibit V: Key Projects by Iluméxico, as of 2015
Exhibit VI: Awards and Distinctions Achieved by Iluméxico, as of 2014
Exhibit VII: Iluméxico Growth at a Glance – 2017
Exhibit VIII: Iluméxico Level of Achievement as of 2018