FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — A company bringing solar power to some of the poorest households in Central and West Africa is the first company to bring solar power to some of the poorest households in Central and West Africa, a continent where governments have long struggled to deal with some of the world’s worst infrastructure and complex social problems. It is said to be one of the fastest growing companies. climate change.
The companies, often African-owned, operate in areas where the majority of people live off-grid, and provide solar-powered lamps to help children study at night. The company’s products range from electronics to sophisticated home systems that power kitchen appliances and plasma TVs. Prices range from less than $20 for a solar-powered lamp to thousands of dollars for home appliances and entertainment systems.
Central and West Africa have some of the lowest electrification rates in the world. In West Africa, where 220 million people live without electricity, the number is just 8%, according to the World Bank. Many people rely on expensive kerosene and other fuels, which can fill homes and businesses with smoke and pose a fire risk.
At the last United Nations Climate Summit, the world agreed to a goal of tripling renewable electricity generation capacity by 2050. While the African continent has little carbon emissions relative to its size, solar power has become one of the relatively cost-effective ways to do so. To supply electricity.
The International Energy Agency said in a report earlier this year that small and medium-sized solar power companies are making rapid progress in household penetration, but need much more to reach every household and business in Africa by 2030. He said a lot of investment is needed.
According to the report, approximately 600 million people out of a population of more than 1.3 billion lack access to electricity.
Among the companies featured in the Financial Times’ annual ranking of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2023 is Easy, a locally owned company that provides solar power to homes and businesses in Sierra Leone and Liberia.・Solar was also included. This ranking was determined by compound annual growth rate of revenue.
Co-founder Nthavisen Mosia grew up in Ghana, where power outages were frequent. While attending graduate school in the United States, she became interested in solving Africa’s energy problems. She and an American classmate started a company in Sierra Leone, which has one of the lowest electrification rates in West Africa.
“No one was doing solar on a large scale, so we thought this was a good opportunity,” Mosia said in an interview.
Since its launch in 2016, Easy Solar has provided solar power to more than 1 million people in Sierra Leone and Liberia, with a combined population of more than 14 million. The company’s network includes agents and stores in all 16 districts of Sierra Leone and seven of Liberia’s nine counties.
Many communities were connected to a stable source of electricity for the first time. “We really want to go deep into the countryside to the last mile,” Mosia said.
The company began with a pilot project in Songo, a community on the outskirts of Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown. Mosia said uptake was slow at first. Villagers were worried about the price of solar power equipment, but once they could see lights in their neighbors’ homes at night, more people signed up for it.
“We forgot about kerosene for a long time,” says Haroon Patrick Samai, a land surveyor and resident of Songo. “Until Easy Solar, we were always at risk of fires caused by candles and kerosene.”
Congo-based solar power company Altec is also listed as one of Africa’s fastest growing companies. According to the World Bank, less than 20% of Congo’s population has access to electricity.
Co-founders Wasikala Malango and Ionwa Mashangao fled conflict in Congo’s South Kivu province as children and grew up in Tanzania. They decided to start the company in 2013 to solve the power problems they experienced growing up in a refugee camp, relying on kerosene for electricity, and fighting with their families for light to study at night.
Artek currently operates in 23 of Congo’s 26 provinces and plans to reach the remaining provinces by the end of the year. The company’s founders said they have sold more than 1 million products in Congo, including lighting, appliances, home systems, generators and other solar power solutions for homes and businesses.
“For the majority of our customers, this is the first time they are connected to a power source,” Malango says.
Malango said the repayment rate is over 90%, thanks in part to a system that allows people to remotely turn off appliances if they don’t pay.
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