UK-based renewable energy company BBOXX announced Monday that it met with Faure Gnassingbé, the President of the Republic of Togo, to discuss the “CIZO” presidential initiative.
As part of the initiative, BBOXX signed off on an agreement to provide 300,000 home solar systems in Togo over the next five years.
As part of its Vision 2030 plan, Togo drew up a gameplan focused on providing its population with access to electricity through a renewable-energy mix. Togo currently has a population of 7 million — of which 700,000 households are living without access to the country’s electrical grid.
This new partnership between BBOXX and the Government of Togo will see both parties plan to roll out 10,000 BBOXX home solar systems across the Togolese countryside over the next 12 months.
The BBOXX Home – which has successfully been deployed in Kenya, Rwanda, Pakistan, Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola and South Africa – allows the consumer to charge up to five lights, television, radio and torches on a 12V battery.
A Togo presidential press release noted: “In addition to increasing the rural electrification rate from 7% to 40%, the CIZO initiative aims at providing massive adoption of mobile payment solutions across rural areas thus facilitating financial inclusion of rural populations”.
BBOXX co-founder and chief executive officer Mansoor Hamayun added: “The President has a strong vision to provide access to electricity to 2 million Togolese people. The governmental authorities have created the right framework to facilitate and attract private capital to electrify Togolese rural households. BBOXX is proud to have been selected by the Government of Togo and we will work hard to deploy our systems across the country.”