As part of a renewed collaboration between Energy 4 Impact, Multiconsult Norge AS and the Tanzanian Rural Energy Agency (REA), Energy 4 Impact is promoting the uptake of electricity for commercial purposes in Arusha, Songwe and Mbeya regions to improve the viability and impact of REA’s Rural Electrification Densification Project (REDP). Besides galvanising socio-economic development, stimulating the use of energy for productive uses is essential to making the provision of rural energy a sustainable profit-generating business.

Since the second phase of the programme got underway in December 2021, 600 businesses have received a package of support services ranging from identification and assessment of potential opportunities for productive uses, training and mentoring services, market information and linkages, technology and appliances training, plus facilitating access to finance through local microfinance institutions.

High quality mentoring is at the heart of this collaboration, but the pathway through the programme is different for each entrepreneur. As Edward Massawe, Business Development Services Coordinator for Energy 4 Impact, explains, “The entrepreneurs were typically not well-equipped to take advantage of electricity connection and so each required a bespoke workplan aimed at addressing business and technical gaps. Moreover, their plans for expansion and diversification needed to line up with business opportunities in their locations.”

Ms. Nice Sokoine is a food vendor who previously only used electricity for lighting but was keen to boost her turnover by investing in electrical appliances that would allow her to offer new products. After market research, Nice agreed with her mentor to diversify into selling cold drinks and fresh juices. She worked closely with her mentor on improving her financial management, including separating her personal and business finances, before approaching a microfinance institution for a group loan together with eight other women entrepreneurs who served as each other’s guarantors. After receiving a loan for the purchase of a fridge and blender, sales from her expanded range of products enabled Nice to more than double her monthly income.

Energy 4 Impact is now strengthening their working relationships with key Tanzanian partners such as REA and electricity utility TANESCO to ensure this kind of demand stimulation approach is embedded in more rural electrification projects in future.

Read the full article here: Business support is helping more rural enterprises in Tanzania to capitalise on access to electricity | Energy 4 Impact

The Horn of Africa has experienced the worst drought in a decade, with five consecutive failed rainy seasons. According to the UN, since the start of 2021, 1.3 million people in Somalia have been forced to migrate to seek food and water, and the number has been worryingly growing.

Within the UNDP-funded Caynabo project, Genius Watter was entrusted with the design, testing, start-up, remote monitoring and maintenance. Prior to the water plant installation, potable water was transported by water trucks from a town located 2 hours away, at a high cost that the poorer population could not afford so they had to rely on the contaminated and saline water from the well, leading to health and hygiene problems. Since April 2022, the new solar desalination plant has been providing about 50,000 litres of safe drinking water every day at an affordable price to the people of Caynabo and small neighboring villages, totaling about 10,000 people.

The implemented solution is based on the company's proprietary solar-powered reverse osmosis desalination technology. The entire system is containerised and automated, operates in perfect synchrony with the sun, and guarantees high performance for a long time. The system can be monitored and managed remotely. For any technical issues and onsite maintenance, Genius Watter trains local personnel who can intervene on the plants, always with support from the headquarters in Italy, 24/7.

The success of this project lies, indeed, in cooperation and the transfer of know-how. Genius Watter trained the project partners, Aptech Africa and Seccco, a Somali company in the photovoltaic sector, on the technological features and operation of the desalination plant in preparation for its installation and subsequent onsite activities.

"We are proud to have contributed to improving the quality of life of the Caynabo community sustainably. Knowing that what you do can change the lives of thousands of people gives you an unparalleled motivational boost. We will continue to take our technology around the world where it is needed." says Dario Traverso, CEO of Genius Watter.

In Nigeria, more than 85% of agricultural land is cultivated by smallholders. Most of them live and work in rural, non-electrified areas. Post-harvest losses due to lack of cooling are up to 50% along the value chain until the products reach consumers. The need for off-grid cooling systems is enormous.

For the Nigerian market, the SelfChill team focuses on solar cold rooms. The standard system configuration of SelfChill is the Cold Room 20. In the 20m³ SelfChill cold room, 500 kg of goods (fruits, vegetables, seeds etc) can be cooled down to 4°C. Due to the solar power supply and integrated ice storage, the cooling solutions run independently of any infrastructure.

Together with the local solar engineering company Ecotutu Ltd, SelfChill works on a distribution strategy to offer SelfChill Cold Rooms made in Nigeria. That means that the core components (solar cooling units that are developed by SelfChill Germany) are being imported. These cooling units are then installed by the local partner in cold rooms that are produced locally. The SelfChill team trains the local partners in system design and cold room installation. This maximises local value creation.

So far, two SelfChill cold rooms have been installed in Nigeria:

• A SelfChill Cold Room was installed as the first SelfChill system in Nigeria in December 2021 at the NSPRI research institute in Ilorin. It is currently being used for research purposes and trainings.
• A SelfChill Cold Room 20 for cooling tomatoes was installed in February 2022 close to Benin city.

The new cold room in Nigeria goes into operation in February at the Mile 12 Market in Lagos. The operation model for this one is also special. A central operator rents out compartments in the storage room to market traders.

SelfChill is a cooperation of the two German companies Phaesun GmbH and Solar Cooling Engineering GmbH. The focus lies on innovative sustainable cooling solutions for agricultural products. The SelfChill approach enables local companies to construct their own cooling systems locally using high quality environmentally friendly SelfChill technology.

More info: www.selfchill.org

For instance, they comprise restaurants (for lighting, refrigerators, mixers, cookers, etc…), agriculture and agro-processing activities (such as cold storage, milling, drying, packaging, etc…), water activities (such as pumping, purification, etc…) and manufacturing industries (such as carpentry, welding, wood processing, etc…). Aside from increasing rural productivity and economic growth, PURE also leads to a significant increase in rural employment, thus limiting urban migration and allowing the local community to expand beyond its traditional interests.

To raise the standard of living worldwide, Asantys Systems strives to provide clean, secure, and affordable energy and preserve our planet. Along with offering solar energy, Asantys Systems also collaborates with PURE partners. The company offers a variety of services connected to the Water-Energy-Food nexus. The integration of smart meters and remote monitoring technologies with mini-grids allows us to intelligently control and optimise the needs of our customers’ loads based on their consumption patterns and to manage mobile payments more efficiently. As a result, mini-grids can provide energy at an aggregated level, allowing the development of PURE applications and managing services to the community from a distance. Offering e-mobility solutions will further boost rural incomes by facilitating cheaper access to nearby towns. Consequently, the provision of health services and the transportation of safe drinking water will be more efficient. The company believes that health and education play a significant role in the socioeconomic development of rural areas.

Asantys' capability to develop approaches for tackling critical environmental challenges and engaging communities in climate resilience is one of its most valued assets as a social entrepreneur. Although few initiatives actively encourage or promote PURE applications, Asantys Systems integrates them with solar-powered mini-grids to provide the community with a holistic solution. Asantys Systems also supports the growth of local training and capacity by working with local communities and NGOs. This will enable a better comprehension of local needs, encourages local acceptance and incorporates feedback into a complete strategy to promote local economic progress.

Besides enhancing rural livelihoods and income generation, Asantys Systems is also supporting renewable energy integration into existing power systems for commercial and industrial applications. It is evident that solar power will reduce grid power and costly fuel costs. In addition, a backup battery will reduce outages and reliance on diesel, thus resulting in a beneficial business case for the solar energy sector.

As a consequence, many households, businesses, and high impact organisations such as hospitals and schools in rural areas rely on fossil fuels; firewood, diesel and benzine are used to generate energy for transport, cooling, lighting, cooking, and powering of machinery. The increasing use of these types of fuels results in high CO₂ emissions and accelerates deforestation, contributing to climate change and reducing the capacity of these regions to deal with the effects of climate change. 

This problem is considerable in Mathioya Sub County, located in Muranga county, 50 km north of Nairobi.

To tackle this challenge, Hydrobox, Turbulent and G-STIC teamed up, to prove that it is possible to develop a renewable energy mini-grid that is financially sustainable while also offering affordable tariffs so that low-income users connect and switch to cleaner electrical appliances.

This will be done by connecting households to innovative low head hydropower turbines that can even generate energy from small rivers in rural areas. Through their design, these turbines have the capacity to deliver 110 kW day and night without harming the rivers’ ecosystem.

The efficiency is achieved by properly researching the customers and designing a smart grid accordingly while bringing baseload for the productive use of electricity. Smart sensors and a monitoring system are installed to upscale and downscale energy consumption to avoid peak loads and to ensure that production meets consumption with minimum energy loss.

This project is an important part of the wider programme that Turbulent Hydro, Bynubian and Hydrobox and its partners are developing in Mathioya Subcounty. The wider programme aims to increase social impact and reduce carbon emission by developing a clean, smart and balanced grid that is able to offer the most affordable tariffs to the poorest households and high impact organisations such as schools and hospitals, while at the same time generating enough income to be financially sustainable. 

With this partnership, we will reduce 420 tonnes of CO₂ emission a year by connecting over 500 households, several schools, businesses and hospitals to sustainable, efficient, reliable, and affordable electricity in rural Kenya.