(AXIAN) - WeLight has reached the benchmark of 1,000 households having access to electricity across 18 villages thanks to ongoing projects by the company. Their goal: to give 50,000 people in isolated rural areas access to reliable and affordable electricity within the next two years.

1,000 HOUSEHOLDS ELECTRIFIED THANKS TO WELIGHT

By creating case-specific energy solutions for every project, WeLight has now reached the benchmark of 1,000 households electrified across the board. Leveraging innovative thinking to reach some of Madagascar ́s most isolated communities, Axian ́s energy-inclusion powerhouse has thus given over 5,000 rural residents access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity so far—and the impact is already telling. WeLight is also preparing to initiate projects in 4 villages as part of its partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Hydrocarbons (MEH), the Agence de Développement de l ́Électrification Rurale (ADER) and the Office of Electricity Regulation (OER). Their goal is now to give at least 20 isolated communities in Uganda and Mali this same access to clean, reliable and affordable electricity.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT, THE CORE OF WELIGHT ́S MISSION

WeLight provides case-specific support to isolated communities to promote entrepreneurship; makes women more self-sufficient by integrating them into professions that create value, and supports local farmers, entrepreneurs and micro-enterprises by giving them technical guidance and access to microfinance via Fihariana and KRED.

By systematically building bridges between municipalities and social services such as primary schools, vocational colleges and health services, or even by ensuring that communities have reliable lighting in public as well as private spaces, WeLight has become an emissary of economic development and energy inclusion in Madagascar—and will soon fulfil this same mission on the African continent. Studies led by WeLight in villages with completed projects noted, on average, an additional 9 hours with access to electricity per day, a marked increase in quality of life and monthly revenue per household, as well as a greater sense of financial and personal security across entire communities.

“To give communities access to energy is one thing, but to give them access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy is another. WeLight is proud to have taken up this challenge, and to champion the efforts being made to bring economic development to the isolated communities of Africa.” says Véronique Perdigon, Managing Director of WeLight

ABOUT WELIGHT

WeLight was born out of Axian and Sagemcom E&T ́s mutual ambition to give Madagascar and Southern Africa ́s most isolated communities access to reliable, sustainable electricity using new technology, innovative approaches and setting up payment infrastructure that is accessible to all.

ABOUT AXIAN

WeLight is a company within the Axian Group. Founded 150 years ago in Madagascar, Axian is a diversified group that operates in 5 sectors with high growth potential, namely real estate, telecoms, financial services, energy and innovation. With over 4,900 employees across the Indian Ocean and Africa, we are engaged partners and stakeholders in building and maintaining developing countries ́ economic momentum. We systematically optimise our activities for positive and sustainable impact on the greatest possible number of people. Acting on our belief that energy is a basic necessity, Axian readily backs WeLight in its deployment of innovative solutions to bring reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to remote communities across Africa.

ABOUT SAGEMCOM

WeLight is part of the Sagemcom group. Sagemcom is a French group and European leader on the network communications hardware market (decoders, modems, etc). As of 2017, Sagemcom had 4,000 staff spread across over 50 countries. Sagemcom is also an Axian partner for several far-reaching projects, particularly with TowerCo of Madagascar to continually reinforce telecom networks and patch coverage gaps.

ABOUT NORFUND

Norfund, the Norway ́s sovereign development fund, is Norwegian government ́s principal instrument for stimulating private-sector involvement in developing countries. Norfund ́s mission is to create jobs and improve people ́s day-to-day lives by investing in companies that are aligned with their philosophy of sustainable economic development. They do so by providing funds, loans and venture capital to companies across Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia and Central America. Boasting 2.6 billion USD in assets under management to date, Norfund focuses its investments primarily on 4 sectors, namely sustainable energy, financial institutions, green infrastructure and disruption-driven enterprises.