ZOLA Electric boosts access to solar with a robust distribution scheme

…signs Blue Camel as a distribution partner to drive market penetration

By Eyo Nsima

ZOLA Electric, one of Africa’s leading renewable energy providers, has launched a robust distribution scheme to drive market penetration and access to its product in its quest to provide clean, effective, and reliable power anywhere.

Already, ZOLA Electric has signed into their distribution network some of the leading distributors of solar and renewable products across Nigeria and has opened its doors to onboard even more. Blue Camel, a leading provider of renewable energy solutions including PV panels, solar streetlights, solar home systems, and a major distributor for global solar brands, was recently signed into the scheme. Blackain, Blackbit Solar, Shokenny Solutions, Energy Energy, Solarmate Energy, and SOSAI Renewables are already in different stages of the distribution partnership.

Almost half the population has no access to electricity. The rest of the Nigerian population is grossly underserved by the electricity grid. As a result, diesel generators are the default source of power, with an estimated 100 million people currently relying on diesel generators each day (GTM, 2019). According to Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA, 2017), the use of these generators collectively costs Nigeria’s households and businesses nearly USD 14 billion every year, while the Energy to Access Institute (Dalberg, 2019) estimates that fuel subsidies for small gasoline-powered generators cost the government USD 1.6-2.2 billion each year. Besides the economic costs, diesel generators entail significant health risks including lung disorders caused by emissions, as well as environmental risks including air and noise pollution. Diesel generators produce about 29 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions each year in Nigeria, a total comparable to the annual emissions from 6.3 million passenger vehicles.

Signing on distribution partners will contribute significantly to help bridge the electricity supply deficit by expanding access to ZOLA’s innovative power solutions across the country.

The move by the brand, which currently serves over one million users across three continents in over ten countries, is part of its efforts to boost its current market operation, as well as provide reliable power solutions to markets that lack energy access and make it possible for homes and businesses across Africa and anywhere in the world to generate, store and consume energy sustainably.

Commenting on the development, the Ag. Managing Director, ZOLA Electric Nigeria, Olufemi Ashipa, said; “The solar space in Nigeria has come a long way from the days of using dirty and expensive power resources to clean energy sources, offering modular and scalable technology. Since many customers do not have existing appliances, ZOLA is able to offer a closed-loop system that guarantees a certain baseline of performance and runtime. At ZOLA, we are driven by the desire to provide Africa’s most extensive off-grid renewable differentiated power solutions to people anywhere. We understand that power is pivotal to accelerating the overall socio-economic development of the continent, so we have designed the ZOLA Infinity and ZOLA Flex, for this purpose.”

He added that: “The ZOLA power solutions help to provide customers with steady electricity supply in any situation. The ZOLA technology-driven solutions backed with superior power storage and dynamic energy charging system were conceived at Oxford University and designed in Silicon Valley. They are easy to install, scalable and help the average home or business bridge their power deficit.

“With ZOLA currently powering more than 1 million people; comprising over 200,000 homes and businesses across Tanzania, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria, we are poised to actualize our objective providing 24-hour clean power anywhere and help the continent realize her untapped potentials.”