Powering Through The Pandemic
Forbes Africa|October - November 2020
Covid-19 has proved to be a game-changer for East African businesses. Among the hardest hit is the region’s alternative energy sector. Responsible for providing many remote communities with off-grid energy services, sector businesses started the year on a high. FORBES AFRICA examines how they are responding, and coping, in the current crisis.
Marie Shabaya
Powering Through The Pandemic

Over the last decade, East Africa’s off-grid energy companies have been the unsung heroes of the region’s wider energy industry. According to GOGLA, the global association for the off-grid solar energy industry, these businesses have collectively provided at least 470 million people across the region and beyond, many of them in remote communities and cut off from the national grid, with alternative energy access.

The industry, working to reduce energy poverty across East Africa, was arguably on a high at the start of 2020 but the onset of Covid-19, and the reactionary public policies that followed, have worked to reverse a lot of growth that the sector was previously experiencing.

Looking at the off-grid solar sector, GOGLA’s East Africa representative, Patrick Tonui, says that while the impact of the pandemic has been grave for the industry, Covid-19 remains a universal shock for the region and sector businesses have had to react with that in mind.

“Coming into the beginning of this year, this industry was really on a solid growth path and the outlook was looking good. [In] January, we began to hear about Covid-19 and what was happening [especially after] China shut down for the month. We [anticipated that] there were going to be impacts on the supply chain and on the manufacturers who were producing these products. As we went into March, when Covid-19 reached Africa, and we saw various government responses to it, one thing that was abundantly clear was that we [were] going through a global health crisis and it wasn’t necessarily about us [as an industry],” he says.

This story is from the October - November 2020 edition of Forbes Africa.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the October - November 2020 edition of Forbes Africa.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM FORBES AFRICAView All
TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND
Forbes Africa

TRACK, WATCH, BEFRIEND

IN THE PRISTINE WILDERNESS OF GABON ARE THE MAJESTIC AND GENTLE WESTERN LOWLAND GORILLAS. A FIRSTHAND REPORT FROM OUR TRAVEL WRITER ON WHAT GOES INTO HABITUATING THEM.

time-read
4 mins  |
August - September 2024
CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM
Forbes Africa

CHALLENGING BUT NECESSARY: THE AI BALANCING PROBLEM

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues transforming many industries, providing unprecedented opportunities for innovation and efficiency. However, these advancements bring complex challenges that necessitate a delicate balancing act.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS
Forbes Africa

BEYOND ACADEMIA: THE SOCIETAL IMPACT OF MULTILATERAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATIONS

The great poet William Butler Yeats once said, \"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.\"

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style
Forbes Africa

The Business Of Dance: Embracing One's Individuality And Style

In the dynamic world of street dance, passion and perseverance pave the way for success. Living out this ethos is South African born B-girl turned businesswoman, Courtnaé Paul.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING
Forbes Africa

COMPASSION FATIGUE: THE DANGEROUS DESCENT FROM HELPING TO HURTING

It is a workplace reality that caring too much for your colleagues can hurt you.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE
Forbes Africa

IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE CRITICAL TO FIND OUR NICHE

Have you found your niche? I received a lot of advice when I set up my company, but perhaps the most important consisted of just three words: Find Your Niche.

time-read
3 mins  |
August - September 2024
HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO
Forbes Africa

HOW TO MAKE AFRICA WIN OFF THE FIELD TOO

When all else fails, try sports. It's good for the soul.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
Forbes Africa

BEAN THERE, DONE THAT

British author Roald Dahl tapped into every chocoholic's imagination when creating Willy Wonka's bizarre chocolate factory in his 1964 children's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

time-read
6 mins  |
August - September 2024
IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'
Forbes Africa

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN WORKING WITH AL PACINO ON BROADWAY'

Arnold Vosloo Actor

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024
BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS
Forbes Africa

BLENDED FINANCE: BRIDGING THE GAP IN EMERGING MARKETS IN SUPPORT OF THE SDGS

Amid the widespread global support for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there was an underlying concern among economists and financial advisors in the emerging and frontier markets: public sector and donor funds were stalled, if not regressing, and the funding gap to realize the SDGs was increasing.

time-read
2 mins  |
August - September 2024