French Sunna Design and Lendosphère are offering an original solution for electrification based on solar power. It is indeed a micro-network capable of powering four households, which draws energy from a solar streetlamp used at the same time to provide light for the area surrounding the supplied households.

Sunna Design who engineered this equipment developed jointly with CEA-INES, the first smart streetlamp. Unlike the standard solar streetlamps which work with the sun, but have a low tolerance for heat, the new equipment will be able to work through the most extreme temperatures for about a decade without needing maintenance. The equipment is profitable within the first 3 years of use, which makes it less expensive than the kerosene lighting currently used by the populations who do not have access to electricity on the continent.

Financing for the project will be done through crowdlending, ad led by Lendosphère. This new method of funding will enable individuals who are interested to lend money to the company with an interest rate of 6% per annum.

The two companies are part of Up Africa, a group of 10 French companies which offer green economic solution throughout the continent.