Throughout the summer, discover the projects run by nominees at Convergences 2016 Awards. Energy and environment, employment, health… Discover projects made innovative partnerships that contribute to the objective Exclusion Zero, Zero Carbon, Zero Poverty. The awards ceremony will take place Wednesday, September 7, 2016 at the City Hall of Paris, during the third and the final day of the World Forum Convergences.
International Award nominee, the Konséguéla Electrified Activity Zone aims to promote economic development in rural areas of Mali by providing access to electricity to local businesses.
Project’s context : companies were forgotten by the electrification projects.
The town of Konséguéla and its neighbor Diédougou located over an hour away from the big city of Koutiala in southeastern Mali, hosts 41000 inhabitants. As 82% of rural areas of Mali, these towns are not electrified.
Today, African rural electrification programs are primarily geared towards the needs of households. The specific needs of small rural businesses (power, time slots, and current stability) are not taken into account. Yet they are creditworthy and strategic actors for local development.
The solution
The Konséguéla Electrified Activity Zone is a set of bioclimatic buildings built in partnership with the Noubian Voute. They are leased to 11 small businesses selected and supported (through training, access to credit) to bring new products and services on the territory: bakery, agrofuel production, IT, radio, tire repair….
Its “solar (13 kWp) and thermal” energy mix provides a 100% renewable electricity and continuous quality businesses. The generator used for this is supplied by a local biofuel farmer from jatropha seeds. The electricity network is controlled via a high-performance monitoring that optimizes consumption and energy costs.
This area of productive activities and communal property is operated by a private operator.
Project’s impact :
- Zero exclusion: 41,000 isolated people benefit from products and services they had to fetch 50 km away. The Electrified Activity Area offers employment prospects. This area is a modern and attractive place.
- – Zero Carbon:
o The power plant provides from 50 to 80 kWh/day.
o Nearly 7,000 liters of diesel or 22 Teq CO2 (ton oil equivalent) are prevented from being used annually.
o Bioclimatic buildings attenuate the hot weather.
- Zero poverty :
- Jobs: 50 workers on site, 25 jobs already created in small companies, 18 millers in consolidated revenues, and by the end of 2016, another 18 jobs created and 10 consolidated.
- Local value: 400 farmers derive additional income from jatropha delivered to the EAZ. Agro-fuel is sold to millers to grind grain, waste used as fertilizer and in the production of soap by women
Which partnerships were involved into this project ?
With the Municipality of Konséguéla and Inter-community Miniankala Kafo, the goal is to permanently register the investment in the territory, to ensure its future, to benefit to populations and draw lessons to accompany other cities.
The partnership with the microfinance institution Kafo Jiginew facilitates the access of rural enterprises to financial services.
The Synergy Solar endowment fund, replenished by 140 companies of the French sector of renewable energies, supports energy access projects. With the Electrified Activity Area, the fund is involved in electrification for economic development through financial and in kind support but also through technical and methodological capitalization for the replication of investments.
Converging innovations
At a territory scale the selection, the 11 companies of the Electrified Activity Area provide a range of services adapted to the territory.
Local authorities act for the population by helping businesses through electrification and by entrusting the management of the site to a private operator. NGOs GERES and AMEDD and their financiers, AFD, foundations EDF, Nexans and Lord Michelham of Hellingly, provide a guarantee to Kafo Jiginew for loans to small businesses. In order to duplicate this model in other cities, the Inter-community Kafo Jiginew will support another Electrified Activity Zone in Koury and a cross partnership is in discussion with Synergies Solaires.
PARTNERS
