This proof-of-concept project started in November 2014.
The RENAMA and Energy Unlimited team, with remote advice from volunteer student consultants of Namyang Business School, are helping community-based groups establish private business centres in pilot communities. The concept is as follows: the businesses are located in areas that are typically deprived of electricity grid connections for most private households and using traditional methods of cooking on three stone fire; a group of 4-6 entrepreneurs, mainly women, run the hub and offer a mix of traditional and innovative goods and services, empowered by solar PV electricity and a range of energy-efficient technologies for cooking, food processing etc.
Currently, we have been working within the community of Gunde (T/A Thyolo), where 4 entrepreneurs have been renting out solar lamps, charging phones, offering video shows, and barber services to their surrounding communities.
