In this seventh episode of #EnergyTalks, we are heading to Africa, where a new generation of entrepreneurs is changing the game. Daring solar power startups bringing electricity to isolated villages, innovators reinventing electric mobility... these entrepreneurs are not waiting for the transformation to come along, they are making it happen! How are these local solutions changing the face of Africa’s energy landscape? To answer this question, journalist Asha Sumputh interviews Cécile Maisonneuve, an expert in innovation and the geopolitics of energy, and Pascal Murasira, an entrepreneur and ecosystem creator.
Access to electricity: a top priority for Africa
Nearly 600 million Africans do not have reliable access to electricity, representing almost half of the continent’s population. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 565 million people are affected, i.e. 85% of the world’s population without electricity.
An imbalance can also be seen between urban and rural areas. 32% of the rural population is still lacking access to electricity, and in some countries like South Sudan, Chad, Malawi and Niger, electrification remains extremely low at less than 20%.
Electrification, particularly in rural areas, must remain high on the priority list for decades to come, since there is a very strong correlation between electrification and GDP growth, even in countries with a wealth of fossil fuels.
It is also key to improving food security and developing quality jobs. It greatly increases efforts in education, health and capital expenditure.
How will Africa’s energy mix change by 2030?
Fueled by demographic and economic growth, energy demand is rising fast at around 80% between now and 2030.
The major trends identified include:
- the surging increase in the use of renewable energies, which already represent the majority in some countries,
- a gradual reduction in the use of fossil fuels, particularly coal, and
- the continuing strategic role played by gas, which is essential for ensuring the system’s stability.
According to Cécile Maisonneuve, if investments follow, the lack of access to electricity and clean cooking could be overcome within the next decade.
Entrepreneurial momentum driven by local solutions
Entrepreneurs all across Africa are developing innovative solutions geared towards the actual situation on the ground, especially in the crucial agricultural sector, which employs 60% of the continent’s workforce, even though only 6% of farmland is irrigated. Solar-powered irrigation is not only an energy solution, but a matter of food security.
- In Zimbabwe, mobile solar containers provide isolated farmers with a reliable electricity source, while harnessing artificial intelligence to improve their irrigation. Designed to meet the energy poverty issues affecting millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa, the Gridbox solution offers portable mini-grids that can be rapidly deployed and which function independently of the conventional infrastructure. By incorporating precision agriculture technologies, these systems can be used to fine-tune water consumption and improve farms’ ability to withstand droughts. By incorporating precision agriculture technologies, these systems can be used to fine-tune water consumption and improve farms’ ability to withstand droughts.
- In Mauritania, a female entrepreneur is developing water points for nomadic herders using solar pumps to bring water from the Senegal River. This initiative generates local economic activity, while helping reduce tensions between farmers and livestock breeders. Its impact goes beyond improving food security, since it helps prevent conflicts in fragile areas across the Sahel.
- New models are transforming travel in rural Africa. In Zimbabwe, the Mobility for Africa startup designs electric tricycles that replace transport methods using expensive fuel and which bring greater independence to women farmers and small businesses.
Capital, innovation hubs and infrastructure: the levers for accelerating the entrepreneurial culture
Despite their drive, young African businesses face a major obstacle in the form of access to capital.
Innovation hubs, which combine incubators, accelerators, legal services, investors and institutional representatives, play a decisive role in:
- structuring and securing projects,
- facilitating access to the markets,
- attracting investors, and
- offering reliable infrastructure (energy, connectivity, etc.).
In Kigali, Pascal Murasira emphasizes the effectiveness of this “one-stop shop” model, which is essential for enabling entrepreneurs to scale up their projects.
The key role played by women entrepreneurs
Empowering women in energy projects across Africa can have the effect of activating a powerful engine for growth, innovation and development. Today, African women create 27% of new businesses, which is the highest rate in the world, but they receive only 5 to 10% of the funding.
Cécile Maisonneuve and Pascal Murasira insist on the need to roll out dedicated programs, ramp up access to funding, and strengthen the mentoring networks.
Moving from innovation to replication
As far as Cécile Maisonneuve is concerned, the challenge is no longer a simple matter of innovating, but replicating successful models:
- solar mini-grids,
- pay-as-you-go solutions,
- agricultural solar technologies, and
- high-impact regional incubators.
These approaches, which are already operational and effective, can be deployed on a large scale across the continent.
