More than half of Zimbabwe’s population live in rural areas, with almost all its citizens off the grid and depending on kerosene for light. The little percentage of the population that has access to the national grid experience inconsistent and poor services, making the demand for solar technology as an alternative even higher in recent times.

In light of this, Greenlight Planet has announced that its partner, Zonful Energy, a pay as you go (PAYG) company in Zimbabwe distributed 10,000 Sun King solar home systems in a short span of four months.

Zonful Energy, alongside Greenlight Planet, distributed and financed Sun King Home 60 & Sun King Home 120 Plus products, which are solar home lighting solutions for households in Zimbabwe that lack adequate access to the electric grid.

This partnership has brought solar and mobile technology to provide affordable, clean and bright energy to off-grid villages in Zimbabwe with Greenlight Planet’s Sun King Home range. This product offers comprehensive energy solutions with charging capabilities for four hanging lamps, a USB port for mobile charging, portable radios, and a motion sensor security lamp to provide light and other fundamental household electronics.

In the same vein, Zonful provides smart credit to enable low-income consumers to access these energy products and pay for them in installments using mobile money platform such as Econet, having distributed these systems to 10,000 Zimbabwean households.

Dhaval Radia, Global Business Leader, Sun King EasyBuy at Greenlight Planet says approximately 80% of Zimbabwe’s population lives without access to the electrical grid. “That is a significant percentage of the country’s population relying on unhealthy and potentially dangerous energy sources such as candles, kerosene, batteries, and firewood…” he said. “Our partner, Zonful Energy, is not only selling reliable solar products but also extending a service that improves the social and economic indicators of these communities.”

William Ponela, CEO, Zonful Energy also shed light on the importance of this development. “This milestone was only reached by listening to our customers and understanding their needs. Focusing on our customer brought us to this milestone we are celebrating today; about 10,000 new signups in four months alone. Across every industry, almost nothing will have a bigger impact on our business than listening to the people we serve,” said Ponela.

Zonful Energy leveraged on local leaders to educate households and influence sales; they conducted a countrywide campaign and successfully covered seven out of Zimbabwe’s eight provinces.

Asides providing energy solutions to communities in Zimbabwe, jobs have also been created for many of the local population. Fifty rural agents were recruited to coordinate the customers in their respective areas, and more than one hundred rural technicians have been trained and employed to help customers install the Sun King Home systems.

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow