The EEP Africa team recently visited a number of projects from its portfolio in Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda. The projects covered a range of clean energy technologies that highlight the diverse EEP Africa portfolio, including mini-grids, micro-hydro, electric mobility, solar home systems and improved cookstoves. It’s always exciting to see the impact that EEP financing has on the ground and the amazing work the project developers are doing!
To keep up to date on the travels of our team members and the achievements of EEP-financed projects, please please follow our social media channels, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The project developers visited by the EEP Africa team most recently are:
Tiny Totos is bringing clean cooking to day cares in Nairobi and working with them to offer working mothers access to clean energy products and financing. Tiny Totos recently won the African Regional MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge, a competition for entrepreneurs using technology to create economic opportunity for workers, with an entry based on the platform being built with EEP financing. The EEP Africa team was joined on the site visit by representatives of the Africa Guarantee Fund and the governments of Finland and Canada.
Kumudzi Kuwale operates 34 stations in the Central District of Malawi that provide affordable, renewable electricity and light to the most marginalised, rural population. (This social enterprise is partially owned by Grønn-Hagen Bjørke Malawi Foundation in Norway.) EEP Africa financing is supporting scale up of this model and expansion to new regions across Malawi.
Zembo is bringing electric motorcycles to the boda-boda taxi market in Kampala, Uganda. EEP Africa financing is supporting the piloting of this new product and the establishment of battery re-charging stations. Our team even got to take a ride on one of the new motorcycles!
SolarWorks! has begun to build a distribution and sales network in Malawi for solar home systems that support lighting, mobile-phone charging, televisions, and refrigeration. EEP Africa financing supports last mile distribution, enabling the project to reach the most remote and financially constrained households.
Ensol has developed mini-grids in the village of Mpale, Tanzania and its five hamlets. The mini-grid model has a clear focus on developing the local community through productive use of energy assets. Our team visited Mpale and enjoyed the electrified village by night!
Devergy has deployed 14 mini-grids in Tanzania and is now driving rural entrepreneurship with the sale of solar productive use of energy systems, particularly refrigerators. Our team visited one of the sites financed by EEP Africa in Ifumbo.
Practical Action has secured a site in Usingini, Malawi for a 300 kW micro-hydro plant that will provide electricity to smallholder coffee farmers. EEP Africa financing is ensuring that the project includes integrated community engagement.
