Modern energy poverty in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the primary challenges that humanity faces today. Rural electrification in this region is a complex issue that needs to be well understood by developed and developing countries in order to thrive on this situation. Further, due to the significant amount of installed capacity that this market will represent in the coming decades, the impact of this market in climate change could be irreversible. There is, therefore, a need of well addressing this market in order to mitigate and minimize its impact in climate change. This work first presents and studies the rural electrification market in sub- Saharan Africa and second, focuses in Mini-grids, one of the most successful alternatives to grid extension in the last decade. By analyzing the different aspects that a Mini-grid involves and reviewing several case studies worldwide, this thesis tries to identify what are the challenges and opportunities that Mini-grids face to become successful in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in East Africa where the author has carried a 6-month internship hosted by the company African Solar Designs Ltd (Nairobi, Kenya). Innovative Business models, Policy and Inclusive Business are identified as key aspects of Mini-grids as failures in the experiences in sub-Saharan Africa. The A-B-C Telecom Mini-grid approach (A: Anchor, B: Business; C: Community) is presented here as a commercially viable solution for Mini-grids in rural areas of East Africa, where there is a need of access to modern energy as well as many off-grid Base Telecom Stations that need more affordable electricity. The A-B-C Telecom Mini-grid model is first defined, secondly the technology is simulated and optimized using Homer software; a PV-diesel hybrid Mini-grid is selected the best option for this market. Then the business model for the A-B-C concept is defined and is financially simulated under certain parameters shown. A financial sensitivity analysis is also implemented to understand how viable is the model presented and how sensible to certain financial parameters is. To finish with, this project identifies the model limitations and the major barriers that this model face to succeed; favorable regulatory environment, finance to scale up the concept and donor agencies and rural energy practitioners to understand and switch their approach of rural electrification projects into a more sustainable and commercially viable one.