There is currently a dramatic shortage of electrical power in Africa. One billion Africans, constituting a sixth of the world’s population, generate only 4% of global electricity. In most African countries, 95% of the population is living off-grid with no access to electricity (World Bank Millennium Goals Report, 2006). This has a devastating effect on socio-economic development, education, health, and safety. Imagine a village at night in which students are walking to distant highways to study under streetlights, where small merchants are investing half of their resources to pay for kerosene lighting to run their operations, and where emergency health workers, if operating at all, are trying to stitch up wounds and perform surgeries by candlelight. Lack of energy is one of the Africa’s biggest obstacles to development, and a major deterrent for foreign investors.
We believe that providing cheap and consistent lighting in rural households and health centers in Africa is a key leverage point that will overcome this root obstacle to development. With appropriate lighting and energy technology in target villages, the performance of village students will increase, the health of rural populations will improve, the incomes of local households will grow, and villagers will be energized to become more self-reliant and productive overall.
