CURRENT SITUATION

In Senegal, millions of households are hoping to be provided with electricity, but extending the national infrastructure or setting up a local infrastructure is often difficult to finance. This reality increases gaps in perception of the quality of life between areas that aren't equipped with electricity, mostly rural areas, and those that are equipped, or urban areas. This can lead to rural depopulation which could then cause difficulties in land use planning.

These people need essential services such as lighting and the possibility to charge their mobile devices and fast.

Solar kits are the simplest and quickest way to give them access to these needs. But these kits are sometimes questionable in quality and can weigh heavily on the population's budget. Moreover, these kits better their day-to-day lives by lighting their homes, as well as providing information on health, education and agriculture. Living safer, in better health and being better informed are all ways to make for a better tomorrow and to better one's standard of living.  

SOLUTION

Sunna-Design, a company headquartered near Bordeaux, has devoted more than 5 years of work to confront problems concerning access to electricity and has become the international reference in innovative public access to electricity in developing countries. Sunna has also received numerous prizes for their solar panel technology which is highly resistant to extreme temperatures. Having such experience, the company started to become concerned for people without access to electricity and thanks to their Nanogrid solution (an energy prepayment plan) started many pilot projects in Senegal.

Today Sunna is putting one step forward to allow development to prosper in the most secluded rural zones and to help families with a solar solution.

Access to technology along with the access to energy grants all the necessary elements to help populations live better and make it out of poverty.  

To help make the kit more available, easy payment is offered to clients with a pay-as-you-go model which allows each individual choose their payment plans depending on their incomes, needs and priorities.  

KIT'S DESCRIPTION

Energy kit: contains a solar panel, a battery, 3 LED lights and a USB port to recharge electronic devices.

The MoonPhone: this smartphone includes 3 different functions. It allows to reimburse the energy kit with a mobile money system; another function that gives access to mobile services to help inform the clients with educational programmes to aid with health and agricultural difficulties; and finally the device allows communities separated by limited connection to connect socially.

At first the phone will grant access to apps dedicated to making and checking payments, and how to install and get the best out of these kits, as well as receiving information on themes such as Health, Citizenship, Agriculture, Management of small businesses and Education. Secondly, this information will be developed into dedicated interactive apps. These apps can then be better developed by Senegalese developers, who know the local wants and needs.  

CONTAINER

Moon created a mission mirroring its values by bringing these kits to very rural areas, creating local jobs and by bringing a community of users together.

These kits will be sold in a rather particular shop, a mobile container which is fast and easy to set up as a sort of pop-up store. The container is totally independent and generates electricity by solar panels installed on the roof. The pop-up store is therefore easily installed in the most rural areas, targeting the populations that will be the most affected by this project.

The container will be used to communicate how the product works before buying it and for a workshop that allows the clients to get the most out of the purchase after having bought it. Different actions will be created to help enhance this product and to test out the different uses of  the product.

Progress of the project

The chosen region for the first shop-container is in Casamance, a secluded zone in southern Senegal. This project has been worked on for a year and all developments have been finalised. After having been tested the kits have been installed in numerous homes.  

All that has to be done now is to fan out.

More information on MOON's website

WHY USE CROWDLENDING?

We decided that crowdlending would be the best option because we're convinced that this is the future for development in Africa.

Offering supportive donations for long periods of time only makes populations dependent and doesn't offer a long-term solution. Many decades have gone by where Europeans have donated yet the situation remains unchanged. We need to get out of this cycle to create a partnership of shared and sustainable development.

By loaning, we would put in place a new sort of contract between European citizens who have the financial means to finance such projects and the clients who'd benefit by creating economical and sustainable solutions that would make a real change in their lives. This is an obvious win-win situation to deploy these kits quickly to grant access to electricity and education to thousands of Senegalese households.  

Use of funds

This crowdlending campaign would allow financing for the opening of the first store and its kits.  

The actual cost of one complete kit (energy/moonphone/contents) is 200 €. A 100,000€ campaign would therefore finance 500 kits. If more is loaned it would mean that many more kits financed and more homes would benefit from this innovative solution.

Once deployed, the kits will be reimbursed little by little by their users until Sunna-Design will in turn reimburse its lenders who have participated in this campaign. 

“ We are counting on you!”