Sollys Energy

Sollys Energy's solar-powered smart grids aim to end energy poverty in the agriculture and food processing sectors by making low-cost electricity, food processing and storage machinery affordable and accessible. 

The Problem 

Malawi has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world, with only 11% of the population having access to the national electric grid. In the rural and semi-urban areas of Malawi, a vast majority of households, schools, businesses and healthcare facilities do not have access to reliable electricity, and most operate without electricity at all. As a result, more than 15 Million
People are losing their chance at a better standard of living, and economic opportunities that could lift them out of poverty.

Rural economic activity in Sub-Saharan Africa is largely centered around agriculture. Aside from the actual growing of crops and rearing of animals, significant effort and resources also go into post-harvest processing of the raw produce through shelling, milling, oil pressing, milk storage among others. Access to finance and electrification remain two large barriers to effective post-production, as farmers do not have the cash upfront to cover the purchase of machinery, and off-grid electricity through the use of generators.

Our Solution

We aim to solve these two challenges simultaneously by linking asset finance to quality affordable energy. Rural smallholder farmers may access agricultural post-processing equipment powered by a solar installation to suit their off-grid needs. In return, Sollys Energy will devise a payment scheme that corresponds with their income levels, ensuring that the farmers pay in flexible instalments. Through a Pay-As-You-Go platform, we shall be able to track usage and payments, and assess credit worthiness based on the frequency and amount of payments to the asset.

We have undertaken several primary and secondary research in order to understand the needs of our potential users and the feasibility of our proposed solution. Our business has an existing network in rural areas, and so we have used this network to conduct interviews and send our questionnaires to potential users to find out how interested they would be in using our approach to get electricity and equipment. So far we have received an overwhelmingly positive response, and are working on ways in which we can launch a pilot to actually put our assumptions to the test. 

While conducting the market research, we have leveraged the field experience of various institutions. We have an active partnership with the German development agency - GIZ Malawi, that have carried out several projects around solar for productive use, and have expressed increasing interest in supporting our pilot and subsequent rollout. We are also working with local organization Flametree Initiative, whose approach to improving access to solar for productive use includes fostering partnerships with agricultural research institutions in order to co-create solutions that have maximum impact. 

In the design phase of our pilot, we will rely on the combined expertise of our partnerships and consultations with potential users to develop the product we will launch and test. 

We are currently in the early stages of developing a prototype of our solution. The main feature of our solution is SolarPay, a web-based platform that will track real-time energy usage, customers and assets. It will also have a mobile app, enabling users to view their payment plan, energy usage and receive alerts and other information. Aside from the mobile app, customers will be able to access a USSD platform in case they do not have access to a smartphone. The web app, mobile app and USSD app will all be integrated with mobile money to enable flexible payments. 

So far, we have developed the web app and the mobile app, and have obtained authorizations from the Mobile networks TNM and Airtel Malawi to develop the USSD platform and conduct mobile money integration tests when this is completed. Once this phase is complete, we shall be ready to launch a pilot of our solution. 

Our solution is powered by both hardware and software, combined together to deliver an integrated energy service. On hardware, we plan to use typical solar generation technology (solar panels, inverters, batteries, smart meters) and typically used agro-processing and storage equipment (mills, oil pressers, regrigerators, freezers, feed-makers). On software, we have the web-based platform, mobile app and USSD platform under development. 

The mobile app and USSD platform will be used by the individual customers to monitor their usage and access information, while the web-based platform will be used by our business to monitor the progress our our project as a whole, and have various dashboards that will help us see the overall performance of the assets and our business model. 

We are currently not serving any people, but we project that at the launch of our solution, we shall be able to serve at least 1,000 people in one year. 

Access to Affordable and Clean Energy 

- With electricity access in Malawi at an alarming low, our first impact goal is to improve access, thereby unlocking opportunities in off-grid communities that were previously unrealized because of lack of access to the grid. 

Asset Financing for Agricultural Productivity

- Asset finance is key to solving the challenge of low productivity that is a result of lack of capital. Rural farmers are forced to use rudimentary technologies that hamper productivity as they do not have the means to upgrade to more efficient and profitable technologies. Our goal for asset financing is to enable more farmers to upgrade their technology, with the goal of increasing their efficiency and productivity.

Increased Economic Opportunities for Rural Communities

- We plan to catalyze business growth in rural communities for all businesses operating along the agricultural value chain. As they leverage the electricity access and machinery, they will open up opportunities for businesses and jobs in agriculture and in other services as incomes increase in the communities. 

- Number of people that have access to affordable and clean energy.

- Number of people that are food secure.

- Number of people that are out of poverty, or are more economically cushioned.

- Number of new jobs and businesses that have been created.

- Number of opportunities created for women and girls in the agricultural value chain.

- Number of people that have clean water. 

Access to Funding for the Pilot

- Our business currently needs to allocate more financial resources towards the development and rollout of the solution. We are currently seeking to leverage grant funding, which will enable us to test our solution while reducing the pressure on our cashflow. 

Low Income target market 

- Since our potential customers are low-income households and businesses who's incomes are largely seasonal, we have the challenge to devise a payment scheme that corresponds with the lean and harvest seasons, so that we do not put too much pressure on our users to pay. 

Regulatory Barriers

- The energy market is regulated by the Malawi government and there are long wait-times for permits and approvals before launching solar projects. We anticipate that this will have a negative effect on our implementation, but we are determined to start early with the application processes. 

Technical Assistance

- Our project will rely on technical support from experts/consultants in the fields of renewable energy, agriculture, asset finance and mobile technology. Our access to this expertise may have a bearing on how well we are able to execute.

Team Lead - Martin Masiya 

Martin Masiya is a young entrepreneur and leader, dedicated to providing quality and affordable solar energy solutions for Malawi's last-mile communities. He has spent the last 2 years building a profitable solar distribution business model, and a team of highly motivated staff and sales agents.

Martin also has a track record of Global Advocacy and Youth Leadership, with his work featured by the United Nations, UNICEF Africa, FCDO (formerly DFID UK), The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the UN Major Group for Children and Youth (MCGY). He is recognized as a rising young leader in the renewable energy sector in Africa, a winner of the 2020 Distribution Prize, Fellow of the 2021 Anzisha Prize Fellowship, member of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Youth and Segal Family Foundation (SFF) 2021 Champion. 

Chief Technology Officer (Part-Time) - Sam Masikini 

Sam Masikini is a software developer, computer systems engineer and data scientist. He is passionate about creating technologies that have positive impact on communities in Malawi, especially around young people. He is a winner of the UNICEF COVID19 Youth Challenge, ICT Association of Malawi Youth Innovation Awards, and represented Malawi at the Machine Learning Indaba 2019. 

Grid Engineer (Part-Time) - Tatha Msokera

Tatha is an Electronics and Engineering graduate from the University of Malawi, passionate about new technologies that can deliver positive impact. He loves teamwork and has exceptional leadership abilities. 

Our team is 100% Youth-led and Malawian, with the collective skills to launch and execute our solution. We are dedicated to delivering on the best quality standards, and rely on the input of our users where our lived experiences are insufficient. 

Sollys Energy has 3 groups of partners for Funding, Strategy/Capacity Building and Technical Assistance. 

- The Distribution Prize, Vista Ventures Impact Fund, The Tony Elumelu Foundation and The Segal Family Foundation are currently funding our work n solar home systems distribution. 

- The Flametree Initiative, The Youth Sustainable Energy Hub and The Anzisha Prize Fellowship are our partners helping us to improve our business strategy and strengthen our systems and processes. 

- GIZ Malawi and Upya Technologies are our technical partners, helping with the refining of the technology we plan to launch