By Basil Malaki Mini-grids are providing rural communities in Tanzania with the energy they need to move beyond powering household appliances, to generating new business and boosting the local economy. In Mbaya village, in Liwale District in Lindi, Tanzania, Ashura, a mother of two, and her husband Ahmad manage multiple micro-scale businesses ranging from ice […]
Following the July 2017 ‘Productive Use of Energy – Problem Solving & Innovation Workshop’ held in Dar es Salaam, the Energy Change Lab has been progressively engaging with multi-stakeholders through technical advisory, brokering and networks.
By Basil Malaki How can a community prepare for this transformation? In the remote Barikiwa village in Liwale District, Lindi Region, electricity from the national grid has never existed, to a large extent villagers have been relying on unsafe kerosene and diesel genset for lighting and powering machines. However Power Corner, a mini-grid company has […]
By Basil Malaki Tanzania is undergoing a remarkable economic transformation. But this rapid growth is concentrated in towns and cities and not matched in remote areas; poorer, rural communities are being left behind. A major factor underpinning this disparity is Tanzania’s huge rural-urban energy divide. According to the Tanzanian government’s Energy Access Situation Report (PDF) […]
By Sarah Best, Senior Researcher at IIED New research from IIED and Hivos shows the potential for energy entrepreneurs to scale up productive energy use in Tanzania. But to make it work, funders and policymakers need to provide incentives, support experimentation, and encourage collaboration. Extending the ‘productive use of energy’ (PUE) for agriculture and small enterprise […]
By Sarah Best, senior researcher at IIED There has been remarkable advances in energy access for rural households. But building the wider economy requires energy services that power new jobs and enterprises. A rush of innovation in off-grid energy markets linked to falling solar prices and mobile-enabled payment schemes has led to an upsurge in […]