**2.1 The need for a holistic risk assessment**

Mini-grids are exposed to various types of risks. It is therefore not unexpected that many of these projects have failed along the way. An aggravating factor certainly is the amount of different stakeholders that are involved in such projects with each following their own objective – electricity distributor, public and private investors, government and eventually the consumer or an enterprise. While the power supplier is usually striving to increase its profits, the government is committed to a just energy supply and the consumer, in turn, demands a relatively cheap and reliable energy supply. This altogether needs to be translated into a reasonable business story, comprising, for example, questions related to the overall organization, education, as well as the financial and economic feasibility (see **Table 1**). This results into a multi-dimensional and complex endeavor, which has to be planned in a thoughtful way. Due to this complexity, a holistic risk assessment tailored to the needs of mini-grids has to be in place. This is achieved with the standardized risk management procedure (SRMP) for mini-grids, which is considered a measure of the ability of a mini-grid to meet financial obligations and profitability expectations in the medium and long term.


*Advancing Off-Grid Electrification by Uncovering the Holistic Risk Landscape Using… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98040*


**Table 1.**

*Uncertainties related to the five dimensions.*
