Bboxx, a next-generation utility, is entering the Burkina Faso market through a first-of-its-kind joint venture with Geocoton Advens Group. This is the first stage in a long-term strategic relationship that will see the two firms extend renewable energy into other nations in the future.
The government of Burkina Faso aims to increase electricity availability, with current electrification rates at 18 per cent, while the rural areas only have an electrification rate of about 5 per cent. Through this collaboration, Bboxx and Geocoton Advens Group hope to improve the lives of 2 million people in Burkina Faso by providing access to clean and cheap electricity.
They will employ around 500 locals, boosting economic development and creating new possibilities. Bboxx will use its methodology, which has delivered tech-enabled off-grid electricity to Rwanda, Kenya, Togo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bboxx will aim to provide other services in the future, such as PAYG LPG clean cooking services and solar-powered water pumps for farmers, in addition to its Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Solar Home Systems (SHS). SHS are less expensive than other polluting solutions. Customers only pay for what they use, which is critical in a country where 43 percent of the population lives on less than $1.90 per day.
The Geocoton Advens Group has facilitated the expansion of cotton farming by small village farmers, as well as its industrialization and export. It is also heavily involved in the valuation of cotton byproducts. It depends on its local knowledge and its network of more than 350,000 cotton growers, all of whom have significant energy requirements. They are aiming to provide energy in this established cotton-growing sector, as well as the larger value chain and distribution networks among these villages and the greater Burkina Faso population. This occurs as insecurity and instability in East and Northeast Burkina Faso have a significant influence on people’s livelihoods.