Does solar home system promote entrepreneurship in off-grid areas?

In Cote d'Ivoire, only 31.3% of peoples living in rural areas have access to the grid electricity. With the potential of solar energy of the country, the solar home system provides a crucial alternative that is being exploited by households. This paper analyses the effect of the adoption of solar home system on entrepreneurship in off-grid areas using the data from the 2015's Living Standard Measurement Survey of Cote d'Ivoire. The estimates show that access to solar home system increases by 6.5% points the probability of engaging in entrepreneurial activities. This result holds for the trade, industry, and service sectors, while there is no evidence for the agri-cultural sector. Hence, the expansion of solar home system - as alternative to electricity grid in off-grid areas - has benefits for alleviating poverty via the promotion of entrepreneurship.