Market Reviews

2019 Issue 1

Harald Schützeichel Four French musketeers are embossing the off-grid mar- ket: EDF, Engie, Schneider, Total

In Alexandre Dumas' novel, first three, later four musketeers fight for justice in the world. They are not revolutionaries, they are rather part of the system, but as individualists they are willing to stand up against traditional views. Similarly, today the large energy companies of ride through the energy worlds of Africa and as four energy musketeers:

· The second largest power generator in the · One of the world's leading electrical engi- world: Électricité de France (EDF) neering groups: 69.6 billion turnover / 3.4 billion Euro 24.7 billion / 2.8 billion profit before taxes · The fourth largest company in · The world's largest liquefied the world: Total (LNG) company: Engie 132.2 billion / 8.3 billion 65.0 billion / 1.1 billion

The four energy giants are an important part of the old, central and fossil energy supply but they also recognise that decentralised, regenerative energy technologies are a technology of the future and not only in developing and emerging countries. And unlike many energy companies in the USA, Great Britain or Germany, they got involved in the off-grid sector of developing countries at an early stage and not only through their charitable foundations, as they also see there a business area for the fu- ture. Although the strategies of the four are very different, they all have a decisive influence on the off- grid sector today. Reason enough to present a portrait of the four off-grid giants. The following information does not claim to be exhaustive, but it does claim to trace the most im- portant activities of the four companies.

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 1 1. Électricité de France (EDF)

The first of the musketeers in the off-grid poration to implement a decentralised rural market was clearly EDF: back in 1999, with the electrification programme for a joint venture: support of ADEME (French Agency for En- among other things, individual solar solutions vironment and Energy Management), EDF will be distributed via a franchise network. developed the concept of decentralised ser- Senegal - 2011 vice companies (SSD): a SSD is a company un- EDF has a 70% stake in Energie Rurale Africai- der local law, run by local managers, which ne (ERA) - a majority stake that had previously sells a wide range of energy services. The been rather untypical for EDF. The company strength of the SSDs lies clearly in their in- was founded in 2011 together with the Sene- tegration into the local socio-economic fabric: galese partner Matforce and continues the they install, operate, maintain and renew the concept of a SSD designed back in 1999. The power generation infrastructure. special thing about it: ERA is the concessio- Mali - 1999 naire for 25 years for the rural electrification The first SSD service company was founded in in two Senegalese regions, which together Mali in 1999: Korayé Kurumba. In 2001, a se- comprise 25% of Senegal. cond SSD followed in Mali, which generates its almost exclusively from solar energy and operates in the cotton-growing region of In the following years, the off-grid market Koutiala, in southern Mali. Access to electricity developed rapidly: new manufacturers, new was already provided by PV kits, but also by financing models, new technologies. Appa- low and medium voltage micro grids operated rently also a time of (re-)orientation for EDF. by small power plants. In line with the strategy This is accompanied by a change in the office of transferring the SSD to local partners, EDF of the "Directeur Afrique et accès à l'énergie" sold its 50% stake at the end of 2008. (March 2016). From 2016, EDF will be active again with an obviously changed strategy - - 2002 very active: Together with Total, EDF founded Kukhanya Energy Services (KES) in South Africa in 2002. Ivory Coast - 2016 EDF also holds 50% of this SSD company (Total In 2016, EDF formed an alliance with one of at S.A. = 35%). It electrifies households in rural the time the most promising companies in the regions with solar home systems (SHS). From young off-grid industry: Off-Grid Electric, acti- today's perspective, the business model is as ve in Africa under the brand Zola. Zola EDF innovative as it is ambitious: KES sees itself as Côte d'Ivoire (ZECI) was founded with equal a fully-fledged supply company with a mainte- shares. ZECI's product strategy followed what nance contract for SHS for 20 (!) years. was already the standard in the off-grid mar- ket in 2016: standardized solar kits distributed Morocco - 2002 via a pay-as-you-go financing model. EDF and Total join forces again in 2002: Total Energy (Maroc) becomes the joint venture With the help of EDF, ZECI also received finan- Temasol. The new company offers photovolta- cial support in 2018, the first of its kind: a loan ic systems (albeit with maintenance contracts (USD 28 million) from Société Générale de for only 10 years). EDF withdrew from Tema- Banque Côte d'Ivoire (SGBCI) and Crédit Ag- sol between 2008 and 2011. ricole Corporate and Investment Bank (Crédit Agricole CIB) enables ZECI to grant loans in This is followed by an eight-year break, the local currency. This was made possible becau- reason for which is unknown to the public. se the African Development Bank (AfDB) pro- Botswana - 2010 vides a partial loan guarantee. An important In 2010, and following a call for tender, EDF step forward, also in competition with other will be selected by the Botswana Power Cor- off-grid companies!

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 2 For EDF, this first joint venture should actually tially, Bboxx trades in very similar products to have been the start of a large-scale and ra- Off-Grid Electric and also sells them via its pidly growing partnership with Off-Grid own pay-as-you-go platform. However, the Electric in Africa. In fact, however, this did not monthly price for customers in Togo is signifi- happen for the time being. One can only cantly lower than in Ghana: households only speculate about the reasons for the sluggish have to pay 8-12 USD per month. expansion of the cooperation between Off- One difference between Off-Grid Electric and Grid Electric and EDF: but these are probably Bboxx is worth mentioning: Bboxx sees itself related to the economic difficulties into which not only as a distribution company, but also as Off-Grid-Electic repeatedly finds itself and a new-style energy supplier: "next generation which jeopardize the growth and stability of utility platform". the EDF partner. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why EDF is deviating decisively from The explicit mention of a technical cooperati- its previous strategy for the first time and on that goes beyond the cooperation in Togo joining the partner itself as a shareholder: is also interesting: EDF's research and develo- pment department is to help improve the Off-Grid Electric - 2018 performance of the partner's battery storage In January 2018, EDF became a shareholder in solution. Off-Grid Electric. Another musketeer, Total S.A., was also involved in this capital increase of USD 55 million. But more about that later. NEoT Offgrid Africa - 2017 Ghana - 2018 But new partnerships for new joint ventures in Immediately after EDF's entry into Off-Grid Africa are no longer enough for EDF. In 2017, Electric, both companies finally founded their EDF, NEoT Capital and Meridiam founded the second joint venture with the Ghanaian CH NEoT Offgrid Africa investment platform to Group (20%): Zola EDF Ghana (ZEGHA). ZEG- broaden its presence in the increasingly diver- HA's business model is the same as ZECI's: sified off-grid market. In 2018, the Mitsubishi distribution of solar kits and energy-efficient Corporation joins the group. It is planned to equipment such as radios, televisions and fans invest hundreds of millions of in African via Pay-as-you-go financing over 2.5 to 3 energy projects. years. The monthly rates of 20-27 Euro (!) are In 2018 NEOT invests as majority shareholder supposed to correspond to the current electri- in Sabon Gari Energy Ltd.: a project of Lagos- consumption of Ghanaian households for based Rensource Energy. Sabon Gari offers similar purposes. clean electricity to consumers, small busines- Togo - 2018 ses and industrial customers through its sub- In order not to be tied to just one partner in scription-based Power-as-a-Service (PaaS) its own expansion, EDF now also turned to model with solar hybrid systems installed on new partners. This was initially the British the user's land - for EDF a very attractive addi- manufacturer Bboxx, in whose one-year-old tion to the pay-as-you-go sales concept pursu- company in Togo EDF holds a 50% stake. The ed with Bboxx and Off-Grid Electric. joint venture continues to bear the name Bboxx Togo, without any external reference to EDF. SunCulture - 2018 EDF is also making another investment in At the same time, the new partners confirmed 2018, underscoring its strategy in the off-grid in a press release exactly what EDF had previ- sector, which is clearly broad-based compared ously planned with Off-Grid Electric: "Binding to its beginnings: for the first time, the com- Bboxx to EDF is the first step towards a pany is participating in a manufacturer wit- broader partnership, with plans to expand the hout its own distribution network in Africa: joint venture to other countries in Africa". SunCulture (20-30%). Founded in 2013, the From a product portfolio perspective, Bboxx manufacturer of a solar water pump for small should not pose any difficulties for EDF: essen- farmers has so far been primarily active in East

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 3 Africa. EDF wants to support SunCulture in its off-grid sector is remarkable, as it is a clear expansion throughout Africa - and in the lon- commitment to the possibilities of decentra- ger term even take over the majority of the lised solar power supply. Looking back at re- company. The way there has already been cent years, it is also clear that EDF wants to paved by the issue of convertible bonds. expand its position amongst the other energy musketeers. It will be exciting to see what new EDF's new strategic orientation since 2016 and investments, takeovers and joint ventures EDF its significantly increased involvement in the will announce in 2019.

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2. ENGIE

GDF (from 2015: ENGIE) was created in The investment strategy clearly follows EN- 2008 by the merger of (GDF), a GIE's strategic focus in the decentralised solar gas supplier in which the state holds a majori- sector: ty stake, and the Suez conglomerate. The new · Solar home systems for off-grid regions company soon changed its corporate strategy: (manufacturers and distributors) it withdrew completely from oil and gas pro- · solutions (installation and opera- duction, stopped investing in coal-fired power tion) plants in 2015 and is gradually divesting its · Provider of energy services, in particular shareholdings in these plants. solutions for monitoring, energy manage- Instead, ENGIE is now concentrating on rene- ment and PAYG solutions wable energies and associated services - and It is interesting to note that since 2017 ENGIE confirmed this very early with the decision to has increasingly not only been looking for invest USD 25 billion in renewable energies, minority shareholdings but has also taken over energy services and decentralised energy the lead management of companies as majori- technology. Today ENGIE is growing strongly ty shareholders: Fenix (100%), Simpa Net- in all new business areas. With an electricity works (90%) and Electric Power Systems generation capacity of 115.3 GW, ENGIE is (50+%) are probably only the beginning. currently probably the largest independent ENGIE's clear target for the entire group is to electricity producer in the world. implement the energy transition from the old To date, the central strategic instrument in central, fossil energy technology to a de- the Energy Access area is the company's own centralized, supply - world- investment fund "ENGIE Rassembleurs wide. The economic dissociation from the d'Energies", founded in 2011 and initially en- fossil energy roots and the associated corpo- dowed with 10 million euros. The fund invests rate restructuring are impressive in their rigor in economically viable projects by committed and certainly unique in the industry. Imagine if entrepreneurs in order to reduce the spread Total were to withdraw completely from the of fossil energy technologies and promote oil business and concentrate only on decentra- renewable ones. lised, renewable energy! “ENGIE Rassembleurs d'Energies" took a signi- ENGIE is therefore probably the one of the ficant step forward again in 2016: under the four French "energy musketeers" who is im- new CEO Isabelle Kocher, the capital of the plementing the change to a modern energy company's own investment fund was quin- supply most energetically and with all its tupled from EUR 10 million to EUR 50 million. consequences.

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 4 Here are the most important investments of 2015 / 2016 / 2017: PEG, Ghana ENGIE in the off-grid sector since 2012 in Founded one year before ENGIE's first invest- chronological order (The annual figures of the ment, the company distributes solar home investment are given quite differently even systems through PAYG financing in Ghana and within the documents of ENGIE. Therefore, Côte d'Ivoire. ENGIE seems to have a particu- there may be small deviations): larly close partnership with PEG: it has already been involved in three investment rounds. 2012: EGG-Energy, Tanzania 2015: Ausar Energy, France The minority stake (250k Euro) enabled EGG- This is a joint venture founded in 2015 by EN- Energy to establish a sales organisation for GIE Rassembleurs d'Energies, Cofely Ineo and solar home systems (SHS) with PAYG financing Adetel. The company designs and manufac- for end customers. (From 2016 this investment tures two technical solutions for the market in will no longer be mentioned in the documents Morocco, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire and of the ENGIE Fund. It is not clear whether and Cameroon: one for off-grid sites and one to when an exit might have taken place.) ensure energy autonomy for on-grid custo- 2013: Rural Spark, mers. The decentralized products developed by 2016: Bboxx, UK Rural Spark are positioned between Solar Ho- The British manufacturer of solar home sys- me System and Micro-Grid. tems with integrated PAYG technology was 2014 / 2017: Fenix, US mainly active in East Africa at the time of EN- The company designs, manufactures, markets, GIE's investment. In the meantime, Bboxx has finances and supports PAYG solar home sys- spread to other African countries thanks to tems in Uganda. In 2017 Fenix becomes a the financial support of various investors (in- 100% subsidiary of ENGIE and moves its head- cluding EDF). quarters to Uganda. 2016: CDS, Mauretanien 2014: Green Village Venture, India Founded already in 1980, CDS supplies solar Founded in 2008, the company sells decentra- home systems, but specializes primarily in the lised solar systems and energy services in India. installation and operation of renewable in remote regions of Mauritania. 2014 / 2016 / 2018, Simpa Networks, India ... and another PAYG company that sells solar 2017: Kingo Energy, Guatemala home systems in India. In 2018, Simpa will Kingo sells solar home systems through PAYG also be the second company in the off-grid credit solutions for rural households in Gua- sector in which ENGIE will acquire the majority temala. of the shares (90%) in a second step. 2018: Electro Power Systems (EPS), Frank- 2015: Ilumexico, Mexico reich Produces and distributes solar home systems Electro Power Systems (EPS) is a developer of in off-grid regions of Mexico since 2010. storage solutions for distributed power soluti- ons. In addition to , EPS is primarily 2015: Mera Gao Power, Indien active in Africa and Asia. ENGIE describes its Founded in 2013, the company builds, owns entry into EPS as a clear sign of ENGIE's goal to and operates solar micro grids in off-grid regi- become a global leader in the decentralised ons of northern India. energy sector.

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Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 5 3. Schneider Electric

In its efforts to offer off-grid regions access to groups and later to deploy them in Sudan, clean, renewable energy, the electrical engi- Rwanda, Kenya, Nigeria and Swaziland. neering group Schneider Electric is pursuing a Schneider Electric now offers a wide range of dual strategy - and thus differs substantially product solutions: from the two "energy musketeers" EDF and ENGIE presented so far: also Schneider is in- vesting in companies in the energy access Homes and Micro-businesses sector, but is also involved in the develop- · Mobiya solar lanterns ment, production and distribution of off-grid · Homaya SHS (Solar Home System) products for households, municipalities and · Homaya SHyS (Solar Hybrid System) companies. The background for the second pillar naturally lies in the company's own pro- · Homaya USB charging station file: control and automation technology, ener- Essential public services: education, gy distribution in low and medium voltage healthcare… technology and installation technology are at · Villaya microgrids the core of Schneider's product portfolio. It · Villaya solar streetlights makes sense to also use this competence in · Homaya SHyS (Solar Hybrid System) the off-grid area. · Homaya USB charging stations · Mobiya solar lanterns A. Products for off-grid regions Micro-entreprises, agriculture, villages and Schneider is extremely seriously involved in communities product development - and differs positively · Villaya microgrids from many other manufacturers in this · Villaya solar water pumping system respect. For example, the German company · Villaya solar streetlights SMA Solar, one of the world's leading specia- lists for photovoltaic system technology, still · Mobiya solar lanterns sees off-grid technology merely as a nice by- Emergency relief product - and is missing out on this market. · Villaya Emergency microgrids Schneider, on the other hand, began develo- ping its own product portfolio for off-grid re- gions in 2010 as part of its corporate strategy. Existing subsidiaries were also integrated into B. Investments this strategy: Schneider has divided its financial involvement Take Conlog in South Africa, for example, one in companies in the off-grid sector into two of the world's leading companies for prepaid different investment funds: power supply solutions. Conlog's prepayment meters in South Africa are connected to the national grid; they work with a reloading sys- 1. Schneider Electric Energy Access Fund tem similar to the prepaid mobile phone sys- (SEEA) tem. The customer buys a prepaid card with Founded in 2009, the fund invests equity pri- his energy credits from a retailer. After ente- marily in small and young companies with ring the code indicated in the meter, the innovative ideas for supplying energy to off- electricity is ready for operation. In line with grid regions. The fund, which is endowed with the wishes of its main shareholder Schneider 4.2 million euros, allows investments between Electric, the company undertook to extend its 100k and 400k euros with an expected return technical solutions to low-income population of 5-10%.

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 6 Since its foundation, SEEA has been involved 2018 in these companies in the off-grid sector: · Okra Solar, Australia: Okra offers the Okra 2010 Pod - a system controller that creates mo- · Simpa Networks, India: Pay-as-you-go solar dular microgrids by networking and balan- systems for households and small busines- cing rooftop solar PV and battery energy ses. storage with electricity loads. The Okra Pod serves households, businesses and com- 2011 munity facilities. · Kayer, Senegal: Solar irrigation and pro- ducts for rural population. · NICE International, Gambia: NICE Interna- tional builds a network of franchises provi- 2. Energy Access Ventures Fund (EAV) ding access to energy services in Gambia In 2015, Schneider added another fund to and soon in Eastern Africa. SEEA, which the company no longer set up 2013 alone, but with potent partners: CDC Group, DFID, European Investment Bank, FISEA - · Fenix, US: Pay-as-you-go solar energy solu- PROPARCO, OFID and AFD-FFEM. tion for households and small businesses distributed through mobile operators. At With EUR 54.5 million, the fund, which has a this time mainly active in Uganda. much stronger capital base than SEEA, is in- Exit: Shares of SEEA in this company were tended to serve smaller companies in the off- sold to ENGIE in 2017. grid sector in Africa. In addition to solar com- panies, it also includes companies in the hyd- · One Degree Solar, Kenya: Plug-and-play ropower, biomass, and geother- solar systems for households and small bu- mal energy sectors. sinesses. The fund's previous investments in companies · Lumos Global, : Pay-as-you-go relevant to the off-grid sector are as follows: solar home systems for households and small businesses. At this time mainly active 2015 in Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. · Off-Grid-Electric (Zola), US: Designs, manu- Exit: Shares of SEEA in this company were factures, deploys, finances and serves solar sold to its majority shareholder during home systems on a fee-for-service business 2015. model in Tanzania and Rwanda. 2014 2016 · SunFunder, US: financing company that · PEGAfrica, Ghana: Finance and distribution specializes in companies seeking to in- company specialising in solar home sys- crease energy access in emerging count- tems on a lease to own model. ries. · d.light, US: Manufacturer of solar lighting SEEA is involved here in an unusual way, as and home systems. Worldwide active. the fund explicitly points out: This was an investment of EUR1,900,000 as part of 2017 (+ 2018) the SEEA international portfolio, or about · Inspirafarms UK: Designs, manufactures, 80% of the allocation. SEEA is not planning supplies and finances solar powered cold any further investment in this portfolio. storage solutions and food processing 2017 technology to growing agribusinesses throughout East Africa and Central Ameri- · Amped Innovation, US: Design of affordab- ca. EAV also joined another investment le and scalable products addressing energy round in 2018. needs.

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 7 · Sunculture, Kenya: Designs, manufactures, assets focusing on Commercial and Indust- finances and distributes solar-powered irri- rial (C&I) clients. gation systems and provides agronomy · Zonful Energy, Zimbabwe: Founded by Wil- support services. liam Ponela, Zonful Energy (Zonful) promo- · PayGo Energy, Kenya: Technology and dis- tes energy access in Zimbabwe by distribu- tribution service company that uses pay-as- ting PAYG-Solar-Home-Systems. you-go-technology to unlock clean energy. · Port It Global, US: FinTech platform provi- 2018 ding Point of Sale Installment Services · Solarise Africa, Kenya: Pan African energy through a mobile application for smart- leasing company for solar and other energy phones and a USSD solution for smartpho- nes.

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4. TOTAL

Total, as the fourth French "energy mus- in Cambodia, 245 in China and 18 in Indone- keteer", is shifting the focus of its activities sia). from a pure investment activity (EDF / ENGIE) via a balance between investment and pro- duct manufacturing (Schneider) to an almost Distribution of solar products via the com- exclusive focus on the manufacture and distri- pany's own filling station network bution of off-grid products. Total also occasio- Total's off-grid commitment begins in 2010 nally invests in off-grid companies, but this is with the launch of the "Total Access to Ener- clearly of secondary importance and is only gy" programme. The basic idea is to sell plug- intended as a complement. and-play solar products through the global Total's solar commitment dates back to 1983: distribution network of Total filling stations. with the joint venture Tenesol (today France's The idea may sound plausible at first glance, leading solar module manufacturer) and Pho- but it does conceal some serious challenges: tovoltech, the company gained early experi- This is because filling stations normally only ence in the then still in its infancy (grid- sell products that are intended for immediate connected) photovoltaic sector. consumption. They are not prepared for Total continues to expand in this sector: in customers who reappear after some time and 2011, for example, it acquired a majority stake complain about a non-functioning solar lamp. in the US company SunPower. SunPower This simply doesn't happen when selling pet- supplies complete solar solutions for house- rol, soft drinks or food. holds, companies and utilities - right up to In order to solve this challenge, Total focused megawatt systems. extremely on two topics from the very begin- In the off-grid solar market, Total benefits ning - until today: from its traditionally strong presence in Africa: Sourcing: Over the years, Total has steadily the company is the largest oil producer on this improved its ability to source products and continent and has nearly 4,300 service sta- suppliers that meet quality requirements. tions in 36 African countries. Quality: Suppliers must undergo a qualificati- Its distribution in Asia is much smaller by on process in order to be accepted. This quali- comparison: only the Philippines stands out fication process includes regular audits. Only with 430 service stations (compared with 120 high product quality reduces both the risk of

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 8 frequent customer complaints and possible Own product line Sunshine damage to the Total brand. For a long time, Total has relied on products The Total Access to Energy program launched from other manufacturers - until in 2018 it in 2010 was designed to test and develop pro- was decided to launch its own product line on fitable business models on a large scale. In the market. 2011, sales of solar lamps initially began in In 2018 the "Sunshine" product brand was four pilot regions: Kenya, Cameroon, Indone- launched. Total is now developing its own sia and Congo. As early as 2012, Total intro- product line, which is only available from duced the "Awango by Total" name, which is them. still in use today, to market the solar products sold by Total from various suppliers under a Sunshine initially starts with a solar lamp and a common umbrella brand. solar kit. Larger solar systems and applications (fans, refrigerators) are to follow. At the same time, marketing efforts were in- tensified. In order to raise awareness of solar energy in general and the sale of its own pro- ducts in particular and at the same time pro- Investments mote the "Awango by Total" brand, numerous Total Energy Ventures is Total's general ven- instruments were developed, such as training ture capital fund for investments in start-ups tools and manuals, digital product catalogues, to promote innovation. Total still does not customer databases, advertising material, have a special energy access fund such as EDF, press kits and communication campaigns. ENGIE and Schneider. Founded in 2008, the The number of countries where Awango brand "Energy Ventures Fund" has a strategic missi- products are available grew rapidly: by the on: to identify, promote and exploit innovati- end of 2013 to six, by 2014 already 23 count- on. ries, and by 2017 Awango by Total was mar- The aim is to monitor potential business areas keted in over 40 countries. Total's self-set that could become growth drivers for the goal: to have 25 million Awango customers in Group in the long term in good time. Therefo- Africa alone by 2020. re, the most important selection criterion for The product range, which initially consisted of the fund's commitment is the potential learn- mobile solar lamps, also developed rapidly: ing value for the Group. A clearly different today, Total sells more than 40 different off- approach than the Energy Access Funds of the grid products, ranging from mobile lamps for other energy musketeers! supplying electricity to an entire household to In the off-grid sector, only three US companies minigrids for communities of 200 to 500 have so far been assessed as increasing the households and small businesses. learning value for Total and thus justifying an The now more than 4,000 Total filling stations investment: that sell solar products worldwide in 2017 still · Sunverge Energy, US (2014): Solar Solutions account for 60% of sales. The remaining 40 for Decentralized Generation and Storage percent is generated through business and · Off-Grid Electric, US (2016): PAYG solar distribution partners. Thus, Total can reach home systems regions not covered by the filling station net- work as well as sell products that cannot be · PowerHive, US (2016): Modular Mini-grid sold at a filling station. Systems

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Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 9 A brief overview of the activities of the four French "energy musketeers"

EDF ENGIE Schneider Total

Information on the group Group sales 2017 (billion euros) 69,6 65,0 24,7 132,2 Consolidated net profit (Mrd. Euro) 3,4 1,1 2,8 8,3

Off-Grid activities Start 1999 2011 2010 2010 Membership in off-grid associations GOGLA ARE ARE GOGLA GOGLA GOGLA

· Equity Investments: +++ +++ +++ + Own off-grid investment fund yes yes yes no Number of equity investments 11 13 18 3 Investment in local companies yes yes yes no in Africa / Asia

· Product manufacturing / sales: - - +++ +++ Own off-grid product line - - since 2010: since 2018: Mobiya, Sunshine Homaya, Villaya

Harald Schützeichel is editor of Sun-Connect News and Director of Stiftung Solarenergie - Solar Energy Foundation. He was founding president of GOGLA (Global Off-Grid Lighting Association) and works as business consultant.

Sun-Connect Market Reviews Issue 1 10