The United States Special Envoy on Climate and member of the country’s security council, Mr John Kerry, yesterday assured Nigeria of the country’s technical assistance in its attempt to decarbonise its energy sources.
Speaking when he visited the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, in Abuja, Kerry, a former Secretary of State in the US, said the two countries agreed to work closely in the deployment of gas as a transition effort as part of the move towards clean and renewable energy.
Renewable Energy Start-ups in Africa
Africa, which has over 1 billion citizens residing, is in an energy crisis as over 625 million people have no access to electricity which, according to the International Energy Agency, makes up 68% of the population. This can be considered ironic as the continent is a bedrock for natural resources, which it has in abundance. For instance, in the Northern and Southern Parts of the continent, there is a large coastline with wind power and wave power resources, but sadly there are under-utilized, which could have helped reduce the crisis in those parts of the continent.
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Energy is an essential commodity as other sectors depend mostly on it; Major sectors such as Education, Agriculture, communication, Technology and even organisations and entrepreneurs suffer when there is a lack of electricity.
The introduction of renewable energy has helped alleviate the situation, and many startups have ventured into it, but in this article, we will only be looking at 5 renewable startups in Africa:
M-Kopa Solar
Location: Kenya
The startup, founded in 2011, sells solar home systems to low-income earners who naturally can’t afford it when paid once, but due to the system they operate in which the buyers are given a year to pay in full – it brings more flexibility to it. The company has stated that it prides itself in making high-quality electricity affordable, which makes it accessible to anyone. For its payments, it uses M-Pesa, a Kenyan fintech startup that is very popular and a role model to other new startups along that line in the world.
After the buyer fully pays the cost of the solar system for a year, they now have full ownership of it and can enjoy free solar electricity. Its expansionist policy also has advanced operations in countries like Tanzania and Uganda.
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Mobile Solar Cell Phone Kiosk
Location: Rwanda
It was founded by Henri Nyakarundi, who noticed it was difficult to get his phone charged when he went to his hometown in Rwanda as he lives in the united states, so he invented a Solar-powered kiosk which can charge 80 phones because, according to the World Bank, there are over 70% of the population, but only 25% of it has access to electricity.
Shakti Energy
Location: South Africa
It was established to provide those in rural areas and off-grid communities access to safer lighting solutions. They provide users with Nuru Lights and LED-powered lights, which can last for 20 hours when on a full recharge. In a statement, the CEO of Shakti Energy, Vijay Mitha, said: “Shakti Energy sets up energy entrepreneurs in formal settlements and rural areas that aren’t connected to the electricity grid. These entrepreneurs use a pedal-powered generator to charge phones and portable lights in places that aren’t connected to the electricity grid.”
Other startups are Off-Grid Electricity of Tanzania, Freedom Won of South Africa, and Mobisol of Germany, but operational in Rwanda through a partnership with MTN.
