Customized Solar in Uganda with Waringa Matindi (Village Energy)

Jul 6, 2020

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We speak with Waringa Matindi, CEO of Village Energy, a Ugandan company providing custom solar installations for rural businesses, institutions & agriculture that enable improved incomes, job creation, and access to services. We speak about Waringa’s experience as a new CEO, how gender equality interacts with energy access, the cultural differences between Kenya and Uganda, and even blockchain and cryptocurrency!

Recorded in June 2020

Visit us at www.distributingsolar.com

Show notes:

(1:10) Waringa's background in the development sector, gender equality, and her desire to work in reducing poverty. The focus of Village Energy in increasing revenues and incomes

(3:30) Village Energy's focus on customised installations for productive energy use; working mostly with businesses (schools, SMEs, health centers)

(6:30) Most of their customers are off-grid, replacing diesel generators; some customers are looking for greater reliability

(7:40) The use of remote monitoring to ensure the solar system is being used correctly, not being overused and reducing the quality of the battery; can provide alerts for upcoming payments

(10:51) Village Energy's hub and spoke model: the need for local offices to build trust with customers, provide reliability and engagement with customers

(14:20) Waringa's experience becoming a new CEO; the contrast of working in business vs. the development, non-profit sector. The social impact of Village Energy's work in changing the lives of their customers

(18:20) Village Energy's business model as fully for-profit, however some customers find additional sources of funding from grant sources; schools and health centers which are able to provide better services due to access to electricity. The benefits of street lighting to provide greater safety

(21:15) Their experience with Binance Foundation, installing solar for schools - working with cryptocurrency

(25:15) The contrast between Kenyans and Ugandans: Kenyans being more straightforward and direct; Ugandans being very polite and kind

(30:30) The interconnection between gender and development, and energy access: the importance of gender and equality, dirty cooking fuel's impact on women; the ability for energy access to provide additional income for women; the lack of DC productive use appliances that are focused on women's needs

(37:00) Their goals for the coming years, to grow their current business; to install 1,200 systems

(38:40) The impact of the solar off-grid sector

(39:40) The need for patience in the solar sector

(40:00) The need to make difficult decisions earlier

(41:10) Recommended books: The Hard Thing about Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz; Building a Cash Cow in Kenya by Nat Robinson; How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton Christensen

(43:30) Their excitement about Li-ion technology that will enable the solar sector to change and improve their business model