“ We like to move it, move it! We like to move it, move it, We like to move it move it - to Madagascar!”
After long preparations of our employee Fahamaro Rabemanajara, who was born and raised in Madagascar himself, we are finally realizing our common dream and building our first #ImpactSite in Madagascar in 2021!
Together with Polarstern we are taking off in Madagascar. Together with the independent green energy provider and social business Polarstern, we have found a partner who cares about driving the global energy transition and creating sustainable impact as much as we do.
Polarstern was founded in 2011 with the goal of changing the world through energy transition initiatives. Since then, the expansion of renewable energies in the Global South has been an integral part of their business. Every year, Polarstern invests 20 euros per customer in the development of renewable energy sources in Asia and, since 2018, also in Africa.
In line with our motto “We Do.” they are also tackling the challenges of our planet and want to create new perspectives. In Cambodia, for example, they have already been able to sustainably improve the lives of around 47,000 people through their energy transition initiatives.
In 2021, we plan to work together to electrify the village of Mahavelona in Madagascar. We strongly believe that electricity is the beginning of sustainable development. Currently, according to Madagascar’s Ministry of Energy, only 16% of the population has access to electricity. The government’s declared goal is to provide electricity to around 50% of the population by 2023 and 100% by 2030. In addition, the share of renewable energies is to be increased from 40 % to 85 % by 2023.
We want to actively support the Madagascan government in achieving these goals. Therefore, we will build a mobile solar container, two cooltainers (mobile cold storage houses), solar water pumps, a water purification plant and a WiFi network in Mahavelona.
By providing these components, around 3,200 of the 8,000 residents in Mahavelona will have direct access to clean energy. Entirely new opportunities and perspectives can be created in this way.
Madagascar has incredibly good conditions for sustainable development. Numerous raw materials, fertile soils, diverse flora and fauna. By promoting the efficient use of solar energy, we are also strengthening local economic activity and driving forward the modernization of agriculture.
It is through the provision of our Cooltainers that we hope to have a tremendous impact on agriculture and the Mahavelon community. 54%* of the population in sub-Saharan Africa are farmers. This is also the case in Mahavelona, where mainly rice, maize, cassava, peas and rice are grown. However, about 40% of the total crop spoils due to the lack of cold chains (in Sub-Saharan Africa). With the two cooltainers that we are providing, farmers in Mahavelona will be able to keep their produce fresh for a long time. They will suffer significantly fewer losses, and thus increase their income.
*Source: World Bank 2019
Furthermore, through our joint energy transition initiative, we are making an important contribution to improving access to education and the healthcare system. The village of Mahavelona, 180 km from the capital Antananarivo, already has a small health clinic, two elementary schools, a collège (6th-10th grade) and a lycée (10th-12th grade). Especially for these institutions, access to clean drinking water and the internet is essential. Through the water purification facilities and the WiFinetwork of our ImpactSite, new opportunities open up for them.
The facilities will be financed (just like our other ImpactSites) through the local use of electricity and related services, such as internet or cold storage. We will establish a new social business on site to provide these services – Africa GreenTec Sarl Madagascar. It will be managed by our long-time employee, Fahamaro Rabemananjara, who wrote his diploma thesis on “Project Design of Basic Infrastructure Projects in Mali and Niger” in our company in Germany and has been following and accompanying Africa GreenTec’s projects for years. He grew up in Madagascar, speaks the local language and knows the country like the back of his hand.
Together with Polarstern we have big plans that include much more thanjust one ImpactSite. After a successful pilot project in 2021, the aim is to electrify more villages in Madagascar on a regular basis over the next few years. We want to empower as many people as possible to achieve greater self-determination and growth. That is why our cooperation is intended to last for many years.
"Africa can help itself. Our task as partners is to empower the local people - not to make them dependent. The aim is to set in motion a spiral towards economic development."
As a partner, we want to create the basis for the inhabitants of Mahavelona to sustainably develop their village with their own ideas and means and to empower their community by providing basic infrastructure.
So far, we have been able to see the enormous impact of sustainable electricity and the new economic opportunities it creates for people at all of the 20 ImpactSites we have implemented in West Africa. We are incredibly pleased to now be able to drive sustainable economic recovery in Madagascar as well. We aim to empower around 100 small and medium enterprises in Mahavelona to grow in this way.
Climate change is a pressing global problem that needs to be addressed. We want to make our contribution to this. With the ImpactSite in Mahavelona we can avoid about 70 tons of CO2 emissions per year and thus actively fight climate change.
Do you want to be part of our work and lend us a hand? Then take a look at our crowdinvesting platform and become part of Africa GreenTec.
We are very excited about the pilot project in Madagascar and especially about the fact that the project will be accompanied by our long-term partner, the Chair of Corporate Sustainability at the TUM School of Management, Prof. Dr. Frank-Martin Belz. We are already looking forward to the start of the project in 2021.
We hope you are as excited as we are! Thank you for your support!
Africa GreenTec is growing with you! We empower people to achieve more self-determination and growth through sustainable energy solutions. Join us!
