About Us

Mary lives with her five children and 24 other members of the extended family in her tribe’s housing complex on the Tanzanian Maasai steppe. The family pays for their ENGIE Mobisol solar home system through an affordable installment plan via their mobile phone. The family uses the system for lighting, listening to the radio and watching TV. Mary explains: “The children now have bright light to do homework. They do not use the kerosene lamp any more, the fumes made them cough at night. We feel more connected to the rest of the world through the radio and TV.” For her, another main benefit of having electricity is that she can charge her mobile phone to reach family members who are out herding the cattle.

Mr Teti lives in the lush pastoralist area of Madji ya Chai in northern Tanzania. He owns four small businesses – a tailoring center, grocery store, phone charging station and barber shop – which are all run by a single 200W ENGIE Mobisol SHS. Acquiring the solar-powered haircutter allowed him to open his barbershop, and with the Mobicharger, he can charge 10 customers' phones simultaneously. Mr Teti explains: “I love that I make money with my solar system and can pay off the installments with what I earn. The system was installed right after I signed up – and if there are any problems I can just call the hotline and they will send a technician to fix the issue.”

Ms Songeti, head teacher at Elishama Secondary School in Arusha, has acquired an ENGIE Mobisol solar system to illuminate all of the classrooms and dormitories in the boarding school that hosts approximately 60 students. The system can also run a radio, a TV and charge the teachers’ phones. Ms Songeti said: “The system can power laptops and an internet router. Being able to access knowledge via the internet becomes increasingly important – both for teachers and for students, as an essential skill for their future.“

Joseph runs a welding and metalwork shop in Nane Nane, Arusha. He uses one of the larger systems that Mobisol's in-house innovators designed and is impressed by the capabilities of the solar system: “My work is no longer dependent on the electrical grid, which experiences frequent power cuts, so I am more productive. I am hoping to soon acquire a Mobisol work station for my home village which is not connected to the national grid. With the work station, they do not have to rely on long travels to the city, they can be productive right there in the village, powered by the sun."