Portable solar lights for Africa

By DANN OKOTH

Africa could be the World's largest market for portable solar lights in the next five years if an energy plan by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank (WB) comes to fruition.

The Lighting Africa programme jointly implemented by IFC/WB could see up to 65 million people on the continent accessing safe and clean off-grid lighting by 2015 — IFC is a member of the World Bank Group.

A new report, Solar Lighting for the Base of the Pyramid-Overview of an Emerging Market, that Lighting Africa prepared projects a 40-50 per cent growth rate in sales volumes for portable solar lights against the current market penetration of 0.5 per cent of under-electrified African population.

Better illumination

"We do not only see the project as delivering the majority of the African households out of darkness, but also as means to reducing health risks posed by unclean energy, as well as saving money" said Mr Aurthur Itotia, Lighting Africa Programme Manager.

He added: "By converting from kerosene to clean energy, millions of consumers can improve their health, reduce their spending on expensive fuels, and, ultimately, benefit from better illumination and more productive time in their homes, schools and businesses."

The findings of the report showed that an average African household would be able to save up to $18 per month and $225 a year on kerosene through solar lighting — money that would immediately be spent on the immediate needs of the family.

Lighting Africa is helping build a market to bring off-grid lighting to millions of people across Africa by investing in consumer education, tackling access to finance bottlenecks, creating a favourable investment climate, exploring innovative business distribution models, and establishing quality standards.

The Lighting Africa report gathered input from a broad range of industry experts, manufacturers, distributors and civil society organisations in over ten African markets.

"The programme is currently implemented only in Sub-Saharan Africa, because this is the region where our intervention can have greatest impact," said Dana Rysankova, Senior Energy Specialist at the World Bank.

"It is expected that because of the high population growth and low electricity access levels, Africa will soon surpass Asia in the number of people without electricity," she added.

Market modules

"The new generation of lighting products that are emerging now can fill in the gap and help households and businesses in Africa to leave kerosene behind and literally step into the light."

The lessons learned from Africa, she noted, however, are being used to give advice to other countries.

"For example, Lighting Africa advised another World Bank project in Haiti that was disseminating solar lanterns after the devastating earthquake there," said Rysankova.

However, other experts warn that such noble ideas risks being overridden by market forces especially if left solely in the hands of private sector players.

"Much as the IFC/WB idea is great and tenable, the implementers need to create market modules that do not overexpose poor consumers to the vagaries of market forces," said Simon Mugambi an energy Consultant with Intermediate Technologies Group (ITDG).

"You do not have to look further than what is happening in the fuel energy sector in Kenya for instance to see my point," he added.

He said such initiatives should also be channelled through the youth development programmes such as youth enterprise.