Village Infrastructure Angels

Village Infrastructure Angels (VIA) is a social enterprise and impact investor focused on bringing essential infrastructure to rural villages in developing countries. Founded in 2012 by Stewart Craine and two co-founders, along with angel investors, VIA aims to help 1 billion people gain access to electricity for the first time, while also providing agricultural machinery, solar electric cooking solutions, crop/food/clothes dryers, low-cost refrigeration, solar washing machines, and water pumps for irrigation and drinking water. The organization operates on a leasing model, offering 3-5 year leases for solar-powered equipment, moving beyond the traditional cash-sale approach used by many off-grid energy providers. VIA's work spans project development, mapping, field studies, and product development. The organization has produced large-scale national and global planning maps for energy access, including an online Atlas for the United Nations Foundation, and has developed tools to map individual households in remote rural areas. VIA has staff and partners deployed across six countries, and its clients include the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Hivos, IRENA, Azuri Technologies, and Simpa Networks. To date, VIA has helped 50,000 people get electricity in three countries. The organization is led by a team of experienced professionals with expertise in micro-infrastructure projects in remote locations. Founder Stewart Craine has been involved in rural electrification since 1998, when he managed the construction of microhydro minigrids in Nepal. He later worked on large wind farms in Australia and co-founded Barefoot Power in 2005 before founding VIA in 2012. VIA is headquartered in the United Kingdom and operates as a private social enterprise.

Village Infrastructure Angels (VIA) was founded in 2012 by Stewart Craine and two co-founders, along with angel investors. The organization emerged from Craine's extensive experience in rural electrification, which began in 1998 when he managed the construction of microhydro minigrids in Nepal. This work inspired him to pursue larger-scale solutions beyond traditional aid and charity models. Between 2000 and 2004, Craine gained commercial project development experience building large wind farms in Australia with Hydro Tasmania, while also assisting the Light Up the World Foundation in bringing solar-powered white LED lighting systems to villages. In 2005, he co-founded Barefoot Power, a for-profit social enterprise that became a market leader in off-grid solar lighting, raising over $10 million from more than 50 angel and impact investors and reaching 1 million people with basic energy access by 2011. To continue innovation, Craine founded VIA in 2012 to move beyond the cash-sale model into 3-5 year leasing projects and to develop more powerful uses of solar, such as solar-powered agro-processing mills. VIA has since helped 50,000 people get electricity in three countries and has expanded its services to include mapping, field studies, and product development for clients like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Hivos, IRENA, Azuri Technologies, and Simpa Networks.

• 2012

  Village Infrastructure Angels is founded by Stewart Craine and two co-founders.

• 2012

  VIA chairs the Mapping Working Group for the United Nations Foundation (2012-15).

• 2005

  Stewart Craine co-founds Barefoot Power.

• 1998

  Stewart Craine manages construction of microhydro minigrids in Nepal.

Social enterprise providing leasing-based infrastructure solutions for rural poverty alleviation.

• Mighty Motor Solar Electric Cooker

  Solar electric cooking solution.

• VIA 24V Power System

  24V power system for rural electrification.

• Solar Washing Machine

  Solar-powered washing machine to reduce labor for women.

• VIA 1kV Transformer

  1kV transformer for minigrids.

• Solar Ice-based Refrigeration

  Low-cost refrigeration using solar ice.

1. 1Village infrastructure Angels – Energy For Allvillageinfrastructure.com
2. 2WHO WE ARE – Village infrastructure Angelsvillageinfrastructure.com
3. 3PRODUCTS – Village infrastructure Angelsvillageinfrastructure.com
4. 4Services – Village infrastructure Angelsvillageinfrastructure.com
5. 5Wikidatawikidata.org