Madagascar - Creation of Electrified Community Zones (ECZs) for the development of rural entrepreneurship

Presentation of the association and the context

Experts Solidaires

EXPERTS SOLIDAIRES is an organisation created in 2011 whose main goal is to transmit and share their expertise for the benefit of people who live in precarious situations in developing and emerging countries.

The context of the project

The Electrified Community Zone (ECZ) project is as a result of the collaboration of experiences between the Ampasindava and Marosely projects (115 KWp installed), supported by Synérgie Solaire in 2016, 2018 & 2019 and the involvement of Experts Solidaires in the access of electricity in the Diana region for the last 6 years. These experiences have made it possible to identify the essential requirements for complete success of the project: namely involvement of stakeholders, support for economic users, provision of training and communication facilities, support for economic sectors (from production to marketing), selection of a manager with financial involvement in the project. The innovation of the ECZs lies in the following three lines of action:

1. The provision of solar based energy in premises accessible to entrepreneurs and located in the centre of the selected zone.
2. The support of local economic sectors by way of technical assistance and the acquisition of electrical transformation equipment and mobility.
3. Support for local economic development to improve the income of the community to eventually enable the extension of an electrical distribution network to households.

Presentation of the project

The energy problem

Madagascar and the Diana region have significant energy potential, however the rate of access to electricity is less than 10% (NGO data). At the same time, the territory is rich in economic resources (agriculture, fishing, tourism, etc.). In spite of this, the population remains one of the poorest in the world. Access to education and health care as well as the capacity to undertake business is very low. The centre of the rural commune of Mangaoka has no access to collective electricity. A few lamps and small individual solar systems show interest in new energies, but the vast majority of villagers still use candles and kerosene lamps. This lack of energy inhibits the conversion of local products such as rice, corn and fishing, into a sufficient source of income.

The adopted solutions

The ECZ is a rural development centre that ensures the linkage and synergy between local participants serving economic and social development, with a view to ecological and shared growth. It comprises of a solar area of 100 m² producing 15kWp of production, a storage of 14kWh to ensure a continuous supply and a building of 95 m² with an entrepreneurial area of 50 m² & a social area of 20 m² for renting street lamps. The ECZ will be managed by a delegate who will appoint a technician and an accountant on site. It will be equipped with 48 solar panels and a technical room with electrical conversion devices and batteries. This equipment has a capacity to evolve in order to adapt to increasing demand. Each unit will have a specific metering system equipped with pre-payment technology to allow users to manage their expenses and directly recharge their consumer credit through a telecommunication service.