“I pay less than 50 cents per day for electricity required for three lamps. Because of the lamps, my son can do his homework in the evening and I can prepare my classes,” explains Hassan Ankway, a teacher from Tanzania. Ankway bought his electricity from Mobisol, a solar power company operating in southern Africa, that has installed a total of 40 000 solar panels during a period of five years. Many more people now have electrical lights, refrigerator or television for the first time in their lives.

There is a need for solutions based on solar panels and mobile charges: Only between two and six per cent of all people living in the Tanzanian countryside have access to electricity. Because of electricity, many people are also able to earn extra income by for example working as barbers or by providing their neighbours with mobile phone charger services. Finland supports Mobisol’s operations.

Read how Mobisol empowers people in East Africa

Photo: Mobisol, graphics: Juho Hiilivirta