(WELIGHT ) - With the launch of two new villages, 23 villages currently in operation and more than 10,000 people connected, WeLight has established itself as a key player in rural electrification in Madagascar and is asserting its ambitions for the economic development of landlocked areas through access to energy.

Despite the health situation and the logistical constraints it causes in Madagascar, WeLight continues its development with the electrification of two new villages in August 2020: Mahavanona, in the Diana region, near Antsiranana, and Ambatoharanana, in the Analanjirofo region, near Mananara North.

Les équipes de WeLight, soutenues par ses partenaires techniques Sagemcom et EDM, sont habituées à déployer leurs solutions solaires dans les zones les plus reculées. Pour ce projet, les équipes ont dû faire preuve d’ingéniosité en organisant plus de 200 allers-retours en pirogue pour acheminer les poteaux et le matériel solaire jusqu’au village.

Au terme de tous ces efforts et après plusieurs mois de construction, ce sont plus de 3.000 personnes supplémentaires qui pourront bénéficier d’une électricité propre et abordable dans ces deux villages éloignés, en collaboration avec l’Agence de développement de l’électrification rurale (ADER) et avec la contribution financière du Pôle intégré de croissance (PIC).

Ambatoharanana village: Transport of more than 100 tons of material via 200 pirogue rotations

“With the commissioning of the villages of Mahavanona and Ambatoharanana, we are proud to contribute in our own way to the progress of Madagascar's rural electrification deployment policy. Over the past two years, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and ADER, we have deployed our mini power plants in 23 villages throughout eight regions of Madagascar. To date, 2,300 households and small businesses have subscribed to our services. These are about 10,000 people who benefit from quality electricity 24 hours a day, and can thus meet their residential and professional electrical needs. WeLight's shareholders, technical partners and teams are all committed to keep this momentum going so as to contribute significantly to the future success of Madagascar's rural development policy” said Romain de Villeneuve, CEO of WeLight.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE HEART OF WELIGHT'S ACTIONS

WeLight is confident that its international expertise and capacity to deploy innovative technologies and to serve the most economically fragile people will allow it to generate a significant economic and social impact. By helping isolated populations to become entrepreneurs, by supporting the emancipation of women through value-creating professions, or by helping local farmers, entrepreneurs and micro-industrial companies to develop, WeLight enables the sustainable development of the rural economy.

The concrete positive impacts on the living conditions of the inhabitants are manifold. For example, there is an improvement in the general atmosphere with a greater sense of security, notably through street lighting, a positive impact on the environment, particularly through the reduction in the use of generators (less pollution, less noise, no CO2 emissions, etc.), on sanitary conditions with the implementation of cold chains for food and medicine storage, or the opening of places for entertainment and sharing (small restaurants, karaoke, broadcasting of sporting events, traditional festivals, etc.).

WeLight also enables the improvement of public services by systematically connecting community services such as elementary schools, general education colleges, basic health centers and town halls. Finally, it is important to note the particularly significant impact of rural electrification for women, in that it facilitates daily tasks (irrigation, lighting, etc.) or allows the development of activities often carried out by women (such as handicrafts, hairdressing salons or trade).

ABOUT WELIGHT

WeLight was born out of the will of three players to combine their complementarities to accelerate energy inclusion in Africa: Axian, a diversified African telecoms group with strong roots on the continent; Sagemcom, a French company, and a European leader on the communicating terminals market and in the implementation of mini-networks in Africa; and Norfund, the Norwegian development bank. WeLight offers reliable, accessible and clean energy to people in remote rural areas of Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to the deployment of new innovative technologies and the establishment of payment methods available to all.

ABOUT AXIAN

Born in Madagascar 150 years ago, Axian is a diversified group present in 5 sectors with strong growth potential: real estate, telecoms, financial services, energy and innovation. With more than 4,900 employees in the Indian Ocean and Africa, Axian is a partner in the economic transformation of emerging countries and, through its activities, systematically brings a sustainable and positive impact on the daily lives of the greatest number of people. Convinced that energy is a primary necessity, Axian supports WeLight in its innovations to provide access to reliable, affordable and sustainable solutions.

ABOUT SAGEMCOM

Sagemcom is a French company and the European leader on the market for high value-added communicating terminals (set-top boxes, Internet boxes, electricity meters, etc.). In 2017, Sagemcom will have 4,000 employees in more than 50 countries. Sagemcom is a partner of the Axian Group companies in many large-scale projects. In particular, Sagemcom is working with TowerCo of Madagascar to strengthen the territorial network in terms of telecoms infrastructures.

ABOUT NORFUND

Norfund - the Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries - is the Norwegian government's main instrument for strengthening the private sector in developing countries. Its mission is to create jobs and improve people's lives by investing in companies that promote sustainable development. Norfund achieves this by providing equity, other risk capital and loans to companies in selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Central America. With a portfolio of $2.6 billion, Norfund invests in four main sectors: clean energy, financial institutions, green infrastructure and scalable businesses.