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Bboxx, a next generation utility, is partnering via a first-of-a-kind joint venture with Geocoton Advens Group as part of Bboxx’s market entry into Burkina Faso. This is the first step in a long-term strategic partnership that will see the two companies in the future expand clean energy into other countries.
The Burkina Faso government has ambitious plans to ramp up energy access, with electrification rates currently at 18%, falling to 5% for the rural population1. Through this partnership, Bboxx and Geocoton Advens Group aim to positively impact the lives of 2 million people in Burkina Faso through access to clean, reliable and affordable energy. They will employ more than 500 people locally, spurring economic development and local opportunities.
Bboxx will be implementing its tried and tested model, having brought tech-enabled off-grid energy to countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its comprehensive management platform Bboxx Pulse® enables it to scale energy access to places previously considered too difficult or expensive to reach via traditional grid infrastructure.
The Geocoton Advens Group has been established in Burkina Faso, as in other countries of West and Central Africa, for more than 70 years. It has enabled the development of cotton cultivation by small village farmers, its industrial transformation and its export. It is also very active in the valuation of cotton by-products. It draws on its local expertise and its network of more than 350,000 cotton producers, who have substantial energy needs.
Together they’re targeting energy provision in this established cotton farming market, the wider value chain and distribution networks within these communities, and the broader Burkina Faso population. This comes as instability and insecurity in East and Northeast Burkina Faso is having a big impact on people’s livelihoods2. Bboxx will still be able to provide vital energy access in these areas due to Geocoton Advens Group’s operations in this area, enabling people to generate an income. Despite the pandemic, demand for energy – an essential need – has been strong.
As well as its Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) Solar Home Systems (SHS), Bboxx will look to introduce additional services in the future like PAYG LPG clean cooking services and solar-powered water pumps for farmers. SHS are more affordable than alternative polluting options. Customers only pay for what they use, which is important for a country where 43% of the population live on less than $1.90 a day3.
Mansoor Hamayun, CEO and Co-Founder of Bboxx, commented: “While energy access rates in Burkina Faso are very low, the potential to positively impact people’s lives for the better through clean energy is immense. Forging strategic partnerships is core to how we bring together the financing and momentum required to provide millions of people with much-needed clean energy. This market entry is the first of many, and we’ve got an exciting pipeline of activity ahead of us on our mission to transform lives through access to energy.
