With 96% of rural households in Malawi still without access to electricity, a partnership could improve the situation. It involves start-ups Green Impact Technologies (GIT) and Amped Innovation, which will be deploying 15,000 solar home systems over the coming months.

With a donation of €104,997, the hospital now has a 3-phase grid-coupled solar electricity system, which can be managed through a mobile app by the maintenance supervisor. This feature is particularly useful during bad weather or grid outages, as it allows the batteries to be fully charged throughout the night.

The projects deployed innovative solar-powered facilities at the three sites in Lilongwe, Salima and Mzimba. The projects were built by UN Women with a budget of $400,000. A total of 2,427 women farmers who attended those trainings have gone on to utilise the skills to set up or grow their businesses.

Malawi is expected to take stock of 50,000 electric motorbikes as the government looks to incentivise investment in the e-mobility sector. Recently, Sky Energy Africa, a local renewable energy start-up launched by 33-year-old entrepreneur Schizzo Thomson, announced that it is set to become the first EV dealer in Malawi.

Located in Mchinji, this 80-kilowatt solar-powered facility is revolutionizing the lives of residents by fostering business openings and enhancing education through reliable electricity. The Mini-Grid, generating electricity solely from solar power, serves 816 customers, including households, 94 businesses, and social institutions.

ASton University has received a grant of £241,075 from Innovate UK, which is part of over one million pounds in overall funding for the CoolRun project in Malawi, in southern Africa. The researchers are to develop a mobile refrigerated box cooled by a phase-change material which can release or absorb sufficient energy to keep fruit cool.

The first dealership for electric vehicles (EVs) has opened in Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe. Oil giant Total has partnered with Sky Energy to install chargers at its fuel stations and strategic locations. Sky Energy has installed solar power in all Total and Puma fuel stations during the past three years.

Through combining the latest technology with an affordable financing model and strong community operations, in phase two of the pilot, called Light a Village, SolarAid increased the number of homes it services with solar lighting from 500 to 2500 this year. They are now hoping to roll it out across the country and other sub-Saharan African nations.

Cyclone Freddy wiped out Chabvala’s vaccine cold chain. Solar-powered vaccine fridges are helping to get the town’s vaccine programme back on track. Malawi has missed vaccination opportunities prior to solarisation, as district hospitals have had other emergency priorities other than minding cold chains affected by frequent electricity failures.