600 million people across Sub-Saharan Africa live in remote communities without electricity. Households use kerosene which produces large amounts of CO2. Solar power is the most effective solution for remote communities as it can be deployed on any household’s roof. As a result, millions of low-cost solar systems have entered the market to power rural households.
Solar products available in rural communities are cheaply made and prone to failure. Lead-acid solar batteries deteriorate within 3-6 months, and the unsafe disposal of the batteries causes significant lead and sulfur ground contamination leading to environmental and health hazards. Rural communities do not have the infrastructure to properly dispose of batteries, and solar companies do not collect batteries. As a result, the batteries are either littered on the streets or burned, and chemicals quickly leak into the soil. As the solar market continues to develop, unmanaged e-waste will destroy the environment.
Jaza tackles this problem by providing energy services with infrastructure to collect e-waste from solar batteries. Jaza develops solar-powered shops called the ‘Energy Hub’ in rural community centers, and provides a battery rental service to power remote communities. Customers visit the Hubs weekly to rent a charged battery pack and take home to power appliances. When the battery is drained, customers return to the Hub and pay o swap the depleted pack for a charged unit. This service provides energy at half the price of kerosene and other solar solutions.
Charging the batteries at Energy Hubs ensures that customers will never deal with faulty equipment and all e-waste is collected. As customers return their batteries to the Hubs, faulty packs will be collected and sent to be recycled. Using this service, all of Jaza’s batteries will return to the Energy Hubs, ensuring that all batteries will be safely disposed of and recycled.
To date, Jaza has 60+ locations across Tanzania and services 4000+ customers. The company has processed over 85,000 swaps, provided over 100 MWh of energy, and displaced more than 10,000 battery disposals. The company is quickly growing operations, expecting to reach over 160 communities and servicing over 10,000 people by the end of 2020.
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