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Livelihood / Living

A Journalist for The Energy Pioneer toured Turkana and Kagera, the two poorest rural districts in Kenya and Tanzania, respectively – places where just 20% of homes and facilities are connected to the national hydroelectricity/coal power grids.
A recent analysis and accompanying dashboard by IFPRI provides quantitative estimates of the GHG emissions from deploying either diesel-powered or solar-powered irrigation systems—showing that a transition to solar is both economically feasible and would yield dramatic emissions reductions in many countries.
The poorest Africans are paying the highest unit price for the smallest amopunt of electricity. To reach the truly unelectrified, governments and development partners must shift from a commercialisation-first approach to a public-good-first framework.
In Kenya alone, more than 70 percent of smallholder farmers still lack access to cold storage, according to the World Bank, leaving them vulnerable to spoilage and volatile markets. Solar drying, in particular, has emerged as one of the most widely adopted innovations for vegetables.
Given the ongoing demonstration of the technical feasibility of agrivoltaics in several parts of the world, it is expected that this technology can be applied at a large scale, particularly in the most vulnerable parts of Africa, in a way that provides enhanced energy access and economic viability without sacrificing the soil.
A Kenyan solar-powered invention is taking the world by storm as it transforms vaccine delivery in the most remote of communities. The VacciBox, created by social enterprise Drop Access, has just been unveiled as a finalist in one of the world’s most prestigious awards for innovation and sustainability, the 2026 Zayed Sustainability Prize.
In 2021, Chiedza founded ZimbosAbantu to improve healthcare access in remote communities. By repurposing vans into solar-powered, tech-enabled mobile clinics, the startup brings healthcare directly to those who need it most. Chiedza says her team has cut walking distances from an average of 15 kilometers to just three.
In Africa, energy access is not just about light or power — it’s about life itself. It determines whether families can stay connected and feel safe, whether children can study at night, whether entrepreneurs can unlock new income, and whether communities can build resilience against climate and economic shocks.
Photo: Ihsaan Haffejee
In Nomzamo, an informal settlement in the coal heartlands of Mpumalanga, energy is no longer something handed down from Eskom. Families relocated here after floods in 2016 power their homes through modular solar systems.

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