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When TAMARSO’s founder returned to Somalia after the end of the war, he knew exactly where to focus: solar minigrids.

A countdown to ten. Then a village lights up—and everything changes. Children study after dark. Fishers navigate safely at night. Refrigerators keep goods cold.

That moment captures the heart of TAMARSO’s story: a Somali minigrid company transforming sunshine into reliable, affordable electricity—and reshaping everyday life, one village at a time.

Tamarso | Clean Energy for Somalia

Minigrid Development in Africa - AMDA | Africa Minigrid Developers Association

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Sierra Leone has been one of the early large minigrid roll outs in Africa. A great success and milestone for the sector with a lot of learnings.

Tariffs fell, demand jumped, and batteries died faster—that’s the uncomfortable arc of many rural mini-grids in Sierra Leone. We sit down with Dipta Majumder of INENSUS and Momori Kamara of MIK Energy to unpack how a pioneering regulatory framework, ambitious rollout programs, and political pressure on prices created both progress and pain. From RREP’s health-focused Work Package 1 to larger Work Package 2 sites and the UEF portfolio, we map where systems thrived, where they underperformed, and what must change to deliver reliable power without bankrupting operators.

We get specific on how elasticity-driven tariff cuts unlocked consumption but strained undersized PV and lead-acid storage, why reserve accounts for replacements failed, and how a split-asset model blurred accountability between public and private players. The conversation tackles FX shocks and inflation that halved effective tariffs in USD terms, the real cost of building a framework from scratch, and why distance between small villages quietly inflates OPEX. You’ll hear clear guidance on right-sizing PV and storage, shifting toward lithium, simplifying ownership structures, and using operator-led installations to cut EPC overheads.

The way forward is pragmatic and within reach. Differentiated subsidies can keep remote, low-income communities on the map without forcing operators into unviable sites. Clustering reduces logistics costs and improves uptime. Transparent tariff indexation protects revenues, while joint ventures blend international capital with local execution. With fresh EU and regional DARES funding, a regulator and ministry experienced in mini-grid realities, and two seasoned operators on the ground, Sierra Leone can turn hard lessons into durable gains.

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Sigmar Gabriel — former Vice Chancellor of Germany, former Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, and former Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, as well as former Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety — joins us to discuss how Europe sees Africa’s development, its energy transition, and the geopolitical forces shaping both.

We explore how a shifting global order intersects with energy policy, why Europe often finds itself on the sidelines, and where decentralized renewables could enable African countries to industrialize on their own terms. Gabriel provides a pragmatic view on risk, supply chains, hydrogen strategies, and the “migration hump” — and what a more balanced partnership between Europe and Africa would require.

Topics We Cover
• postwar order challenged by a confident global south and a retreating US
• Europe’s limited agency in conflict zones and energy strategy
• Germany’s energy dependence story
• Africa’s decentralized mini-grids as a leapfrog path
• storage, smart grids, and system stability beyond dunkelflaute
• China’s no-questions-asked model vs. models with more growth potential
• risk premiums, governance, and public de-risking tools
• hydrogen siting, grid integration, and export versus local use
• rural industrialisation and local value creation near resources
• supply chain diversification and partnerships through GAIN

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Sigmar Gabriel — ehemaliger Vizekanzler der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, ehemaliger Bundesaußenminister sowie früherer Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Energie und Bundesminister für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit — spricht mit Nico Peterschmidt darüber, wie Europa auf Afrikas Entwicklung und Energiewende blickt und welche geopolitischen Kräfte beide prägen.

Wir sprechen mit Sigmar Gabriel, darüber, wie eine fragmentierte Weltordnung mit dem dringenden Bedarf kollidiert, Afrika zu elektrifizieren und die Energie-Resilienz wieder aufzubauen. Die Nachkriegsordnung verblasst, die Vereinigten Staaten verengen ihren Fokus, und der Globale Süden tritt selbstbewusst auf die Bühne. Inmitten dieses Umbruchs steht Europa vor einer harten Realität: Energie- und Ressourcen-Autarkie ist ein beruhigender Mythos – klügere, diversifizierte Interdependenz ist die einzige tragfähige Strategie.

Wir beleuchten Afrikas Elektrifizierungsherausforderung und den Aufstieg von solaren Mini-Grids, die zuverlässigen Strom dorthin bringen können, wo große Netze nur schwer hinkommen. Gabriel zieht Lehren aus dem deutschen Weg – liberalisierte Märkte auf der Suche nach billigem Gas, ein schneller Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien und die mühsam gewonnene Erkenntnis, dass Speicher, Netzverstärkung und intelligente Steuerung unverzichtbar sind.

Das Gespräch stellt unbequeme Wahrheiten über Lieferketten und Einfluss in den Mittelpunkt. Chinas Dominanz bei kritischen Mineralien und der Infrastrukturfinanzierung lässt sich nicht ignorieren – Europa braucht Technologiepartnerschaften, die Wert teilen, nicht entziehen. Wir benennen die Fehler früherer „Wüstenstrom“-Visionen, die Exporte über lokale Vorteile stellten, und skizzieren ein besseres Modell: Erneuerbare Energien mit Wasser, Landwirtschaft und Verarbeitung verknüpfen, damit Länder mehr Wertschöpfung im eigenen Land behalten.

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What if electricity didn’t stop at lighting a room but kick-started a local economy? We head to Nigeria to unpack CEESOLAR’s journey from a bold 2017 idea to a working blueprint for mini-grids that power livelihoods—milling grain, cooling goods, charging e-tricycles, and teaching digital skills in a rural computer lab. The result is a simple but radical mindset shift: energy is not the goal; income and opportunity are.

We walk through the hard realities of building mini-grids—patient capital, long payback cycles, and rough logistics—and how a USAID win funded a 27 kWp pilot serving 217 customers. That's where proof met practice. Through community listening sessions, smart metering, and modular design, the team built trust and uptime. Then came the flywheel: pairing clean power with productive-use equipment like cassava and rice mills, packaging machines, cold storage, and irrigation. As farmers processed faster and shop owners cut spoilage, demand for electricity rose with incomes, turning a utility bill into a business tool.

You’ll hear community voices describe real change: lower operating costs versus generators, later closing times, new jobs, and students learning computers for the first time. We dig into the tech backbone—remote monitoring that flags faults and reduces outages—and the brand focus that keeps projects aligned with productive customers. The takeaway is clear: mini-grids are more than panels and wires; they’re platforms for growth when designed around outcomes.

Ceesolar Energy Limited | Solar Energy company | Plot 1143b Adeniyi Olatoke, Utako Abuja Nigeria

Minigrid Development in Africa - AMDA | Africa Minigrid Developers Association

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Bas Hetterscheid from Wageningen University and Nico discuss Cold Chains in Africa and the role minigrids can play in their development.

The growing urban middle class in many African countries is demanding more fresh products, which may not be available close to the cities. Cold chains are required to make sure the products arrive at the market in good condition. Traders and processers of food products will soon look out for opportunities to source these products from slightly more rural areas. Where minigrid companies align their electrification activities with these plans from the food industry, interesting business opportunities may arise.

Here are the links to the publications mentioned in the podcast:

• Agri-energy nexus: https://gogla.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Beyond-Silos_Strengthening-Nexus-Collaboration-to-Power-Food-Systems-with-Off-Grid-Solar-1.pdf
• ~70% of near farmer milk tanks remain empty: https://a.storyblok.com/f/191310/906d8d8d95/bridge-20milk-20cooler-20survey-20brief.pdf
• 3-pager on (un)successful cold chain developments (starting at page 10): https://efficiencyforaccess.org/wp-content/uploads/Keep-it-Cool_Oct-2023_2023-10-21-110734_xzds.pdf
• Postharvest assessment methodology – method to design viable postharvest interventions: https://edepot.wur.nl/582556

Contact Bas Hetterscheid under:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bashetterscheid/

Organisation website: https://www.wur.nl/en.htm

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Unlock the hidden complexities of mini-grid company valuation with the brilliant minds of Brian Lukera Wambani from Camco and Michael Feldner from the GET.invest Finance Catalyst. This episode promises to equip you with the nuanced understanding required to navigate the valuation challenges faced by mini-grid enterprises, which operate at the crossroads of traditional utilities and agile startups. We tackle the pivotal questions: How do investors perceive the value of these companies, and what factors should CEOs and CFOs weigh when determining their company's worth?

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In this episode, Benjamin Curnier from AfDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) breaks down AMAP 2.0—what it is, who it’s designed for, and how it works. If you’re a minigrid company looking to tap into technical assistance funding, this conversation offers the perfect starting point.

👉 Access the AMAP 2.0 guidelines and application documents here: AMAP — Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa

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