ABOUT SOLAR KENYA 2024

SOLAR EXPO – Kenya is the foremost exhibition in Kenya and the entire East and Central African region for the solar industry. The event is the largest and most significant in the region attracting leading companies, experts, professionals and decision makers. The trade exhibition is a key platform for promoting the latest products, technology and equipment for the solar industry. The expo participants gain special access to the East African market allowing them to experience the domestic needs and tailor their products to the region.

Solar energy is one of the most abundant and accessible renewable energy sources in Kenya, with an average solar radiation of 4-6 kWh/m2/day. The government of Kenya has enacted several policies and initiatives to promote the development and deployment of solar energy in the country. Solar energy is used for various applications, such as lighting, heating, cooling, pumping, cooking, and generating electricity. Solar energy also provides clean and affordable energy access to rural and remote areas that are not connected to the national grid. The private sector has played a key role in driving the growth and innovation of solar energy in Kenya.

The Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project, provides electricity to 1.3 million households and 800 public facilities in 14 counties using solar mini-grids, standalone solar systems, and clean cooking stoves. Several local and international companies have invested in solar projects, products, and services for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional customers. These include solar home systems, solar lanterns, solar water heaters, solar water pumps, solar refrigerators, solar dryers, solar cookers, solar street lights, solar mini-grids, and grid-connected solar power plants.

ABOUT THE EVENT

SOLAR EXPO – Kenya is the foremost exhibition in Kenya and the entire East and Central African region for the solar industry. The event is the largest and most significant in the region attracting leading companies, experts, professionals and decision makers. The trade exhibition is a key platform for promoting the latest products, technology and equipment for the solar industry. The expo participants gain special access to the East African market allowing them to experience the domestic needs and tailor their products to the region.

Solar energy is one of the most abundant and accessible renewable energy sources in Kenya, with an average solar radiation of 4-6 kWh/m2/day. The government of Kenya has enacted several policies and initiatives to promote the development and deployment of solar energy in the country.

JUBILATION IN EWANGAN VILLAGE AFTER GETTING SOLAR PANELS FROM TOURISTS

Residents of Ewangan village within the Sekenani area in Maasai Mara National Reserve are a happy lot after a group of tourists collaborated with Super Africa Wildlife and Adventure Safaris to light their village.

The tourists from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, led by Allen Yeh, donated 15 solar panels to the village so as to improve their living standards.

The relationship with the village, Yeh said, began seven years ago when he visited the Maasai Mara Game Reserve and developed a special love for the people who were living in the Maasai Manyatta.

Yeh said he was able to connect with the people through his tour guide, Michael Letura, whom he kept communicating with even after going back to his home country; China.

He said Letura informed him of the challenges the people face and requested that he help improve their livelihood.

During the recent prolonged dry spell, he recalled, Letura informed him that his people were struggling to place a plate of food on the table, which touched his heart and together with his friends, they were able to send food that fed the village for 2 months.

Yeh said he worked with close friends from Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA and the tour company to bring the solar panels to the Maasai village.

On his part, Letura lauded the tourists for bringing fortune in the village, saying his constant communication with them has borne fruit for the village.

“I met Allen Yeh 7 years ago when he toured the Maasai Mara National Reserve and I was his tour guide. He took my contact information and promised to keep in touch. My relationship with him has helped the entire village,â he said.

One of the villagers, Ms. Mary Kaaria, thanked the group of tourists for their kind gesture of lighting their manyattas.

“They have been very helpful to us. First, they brought us food and we were very grateful. Now they have brought us Solar panels and we know that our lives will be better. Our children will do their homework comfortably and will have a bright future,” she said.

She explained that the Manyatta, adjacent to the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, which has about 20 homesteads, is an extended family that shares their successes and sorrows.

“In this manyatta, though we are many, we belong to the same family and we know how to share the little that we have. Everything we receive from the white people we share amicably,†she added.

Jack Moniko, a youth from the village, recalled how he struggled to do his homework because of the poor lighting, expressing joy that his children would comfortably study even at the wee hours of the night.

His sentiments were echoed by Emmanuel Kaaria, who thanked the tourists and tour company for their continued support, saying they will charge their phones easily and use other electronics because of the newly installed solar panels.

Super Africa Wildlife and Adventure owner Martin Otieno said it was always a pleasure to give back to the community that is adjacent to the National Reserve, while pledging to continue supporting the village.

Sun King, a provider of solar energy products for off-grid homes in Africa and Asia, has closed the 1st Kenyan-Shilling-denominated securitisation deal, injecting $130 million into the East African nation’s off-grid solar energy sector.

The 4 year deal is issued under Sun King’s sustainable financing framework, allowing the company to sell its solar products at affordable instalments.

The transaction will help expedite clean and reliable energy access for Kenyan families and businesses, the company said in a statement.

“Over one billion people live off the reliable electric grid. This number is projected to rise. Sun King’s pay-as-you-go service dismantles the up-front cost barrier that blocks consumers from purchasing solar energy systems,” said Anish Thakkar, Co-Founder, Sun King.

“This securitisation could be key to unlocking the extensive capital needed to fund solar energy initiatives at the scale the climate crisis requires,” he added.

Citi, the lead placement agent, arranged and structured the scalable loan instrument. Standard Bank Group was the co-placement agent.