Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) within the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in Malawi

Low Access to Electricity: Only 25% of population have access to electricity.The Development Gap: Bridging the economic divide between nations requires shifting from basic household electrification too industrial and agricultural productivity.Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) links renewable energy to income-generating activities. Evidence on scaling PURE within the WEF nexus remains limited However, critical structural questions remain:Can renewable energy reliably scale and deliver across diverse socioeconomic sectors?Does the necessary regulatory, financial and institutional environment exist to facilitate the scaling of these interventionsConclusion:PURE can convert energy access into productive economic opportunitiesSuccessful scaling depends on supportive policies, financing, technologies, markets and cross sectoral interactionAn ecosystem approach can accelerate sustainable rural development in MalawiPoster shown at Workshop on Sustainable Business Models (SBMs) for Decentralised Renewable Energy Hubs, 19 June 2026.© the authors