Green Scene Energy PLC took part in a Government- and UN-backed roadshow to highlight the advantages of solar energy in off-grid communities. This has brought our solar home systems to hundreds more homes, freeing Ethiopians from travelling to buy expensive, smokey fuel.
The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) roadshow took place over the last month to showcase the benefits of renewable energy to people on market days across six wordeas in three regions.
The Green Scene Energy team helped the Government to raise awareness of the renewable alternatives to kerosene in Kerbidihar, Degahabour, Dodola, Adama, Analemo and Sodo. We highlighted how our range of home systems are high-quality, affordable and come with warranties and finance options. We were one of only seven companies selected to take part in the roadshow nationwide, out of 28 organisations responding to the MoWIE invitation for proposals.
Our team, Mikiyas Berihun and Azemeraw Drese, showed our powerful, durable products to Ethiopian families in the Somali; Oromia; and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples of Republic regions.
There was significant interest in our unique BioLite Home 620, which brings reliable and safe light, power and information to homes, thanks to easy pay-as-you-go payment options. The biggest sales, however, were of our high-performance Sun King solar lights — to charge phones and other devices, as well as replacing dirty and unsafe kerosene lamps.
We are now preparing to promote our solar energy solutions in further regions, starting with Afar and Benishangul, and are very happy to collaborate with partners to make this happen. Events such as these allow us to open Ethiopians’ eyes to how solar energy can save them time and money, freeing them to work, study and live. They also alert retailers to the opportunity of making a living selling affordable solar energy products in off-grid communities.
Mikiyas commented: “It was an exciting opportunity to be part of the Government’s roadshow over the last month, allowing us to bring awareness of our solar home systems to thousands of families in southern Ethiopia.
“We are thankful and very pleased over three thousand families now have our systems in their homes; thousands more, hearing about our pay-as-you-go pilot for the Biolite Home 620 in SNNPR, have inquired about paying in instalments; and new distributors working with Green Scene are making solar energy available across these regions.
“The power is there; we simply need to make Ethiopians aware of how they can use it for reliable and safe light, power and information.”