Mobile Solar Kiosk
ARED Group’s (ARED) solar kiosk platform and mini server facilitate access to phone charging and digital applications for low income people in Africa.
Key Facts
- In Africa, less than 40% of people have access to energy and less than 30% have access to the internet.
- ARED’s solar kiosk platform and mini-server allow access to phone charging and digital applications.
- Solar energy is the most reliable energy source in Africa.
- ARED operates as a B2B2C company.
- The solar kiosks provide last mile connectivity to low-income Africans.
Key Features
ARED develops a solar kiosk platform and a mini server to facilitate access to phone charging and digital applications for low income people in Africa. The mini server is able to store digital applications locally and distributed via WIFI, and is built into the solar kiosk platform to power the technology but also provide phone charging services to become the first one-stop-shop platform in Africa. With less than 40% of the population having access to energy and less than 30% of the population with access to the internet, there is a need for an innovative solution to solve this problem.
Social Impact
ARED has a triple bottom impact on the ground.
- Environmental impact: Our technology is powered by solar energy, from the electronics on the kiosk and the phone charging. Due to challenges with energy access in Africa, solar energy is the most reliable energy source in Africa.
- Social & economic impact: Our solar kiosk provides micro entrepreneurship opportunities in the communities we serve. Kiosk operators are recruited from the community and also receive training on how to run a business. There is a focus on women and people with disabilities to truly empower the different groups that have low economic opportunities.
- Technological impact: One of the challenges of last mile connectivity is the cost of the internet. So, we developed a multi service digital edge network to help facilitate the access of digital applications by storing applications on the mini-server and distributed via WIFI.
Future Plans
ARED is currently developing a 2.0 mini-server that will increase storage capacity and enable more digital services and applications for users. We are also working on adding two more countries, Senegal and Nigeria, in partnership with telecom companies to continue our growth on the ground but also solidify our B2B2C approach with telecom companies.
Main Target Group
Our two key customers are NGOs and telecom companies.
Main User
- Consumers – Villagers who do not have a system of their own and are pure off-takers.
- Prosumers – Villagers with a solar home system (SHS) who, at times, need more power (and other times less). They can be a net-producer or consumer depending on their usage pattern.
- Producers – Villagers who turn out to be solar entrepreneurs who obtain solar generation and storage assets for the purpose of selling.
