Engie Energy Access, the subsidiary of French energy company Engie, has signed an agreement with the decentralised clean energy solutions provider OffGridBox to supply drinking water, electricity and Wi-Fi to households in Kigali, Rwanda.
Engie Energy Access, which includes Engie Mobisol, Fénix International and Engie PowerCorner has initiated an alliance for solar energy, drinking water and Wi-Fi distribution in Rwanda.
The company which specializes in decentralized renewable energy solutions, has joined forces with OffGridBox, a company that supplies containerized systems for drinking water and solar energy with the aimof supplying electricity, drinking water and Wi-Fi to various off-grid households in the Rwandan capital Kigali.
OffGridBox will install the containerized systems covered with solar panels and equipped with electricity storage and water purification systems, which will also be able to provide internet connection via Wi-Fi hotspot.
Engie Energy Access explained that Subscribers to this service will each receive a battery, three LED energy-saver bulbs, a phone charger and a water canister. “For a small fee, customers can recharge their 40 Wh battery to power the light bulbs for 4 hours, charge their phone or operate small electronic equipment, and collect 10 litres of drinking water each time.”
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The system set up by the two companies can also provide electricity to a school or clinic through a small network connected to the containerised system. “This pilot project, which was successfully launched in early October, addresses the two main basic needs of communities in Africa: access to clean drinking water and sustainable energy. It will meet the needs of 18% of households in Kigali that currently have no access to electricity, and will serve as a back-up system for lighting and phone charging in the region,” explains Engie Energy Access.
Engie Energy Access, which employs 325 people in Rwanda, says its collaboration with OffGridBox will also help women get jobs, particularly in the management of containerised battery charging and drinking water distribution systems. The project stems from a call for solutions for access to drinking water and clean energy in cities, launched by French giant Engie in Rwanda.
“Our three-year experience in providing clean drinking water and clean energy to rural communities in Rwanda will help us to implement this project, and we intend to extend our activities to other regions of the country,” explains OffGridBox. The company, founded in 2016, has already installed its containerised systems in several African countries including Madagascar, South Africa, Somalia, Tanzania, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
