The Total Access to Energy adventure in Uganda
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These lamps save us from using candles.
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Candles are very, very dangerous.
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And we’ve had several deaths in our country
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caused by fires.
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This lamp is very good, it cannot burn the house.
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In my home, I do baking.
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I start very early in the morning,
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because I don’t wait for the sunshine to come out.
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So I use this lamp to do the baking.
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And, by 7 in the morning,
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my products are ready on the market.
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Even school-going children can use it
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for reading at night.
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That has helped us improve our status in our families.
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We are happy.
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We see a huge potential.
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The statistics show that
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more than half the people in Africa
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still lack access to electricity.
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So, with our solar solutions,
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we will be able to meet these needs,
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for the good of our business,
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and also for the empowerment of these communities
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and the people living in those societies.
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Other than under our own network channel,
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we have handled it through development of partnerships,
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like Micro Finance Institutes, NGOs,
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humanitarian organizations,
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schools and beverage companies.
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We bring in, at this location, every year,
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45 to 50 young people.
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We train them in conservation farming.
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Last year, in December, we ran a solar project,
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so that our farmers can also get light.
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If you enter the villages, most of them are dark.
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When we found out about Total,
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they had tested all the solar products
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that other companies are supplying.
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They promised us that
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the pack that they are giving us is the best.
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But, also, it was cheap.
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If you ask people how much they spend on paraffin,
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you find that, annually,
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it’s more expensive than if you just bought one solar pack.
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We explained to them that we’re dealing with farmers,
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people who want to get out of poverty,
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so they were willing to work with us,
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to make it affordable.
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We have bought 200,
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we want to buy 200 more.
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Here in Africa, we are blessed with the sun.
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It’s always there.
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So it’s a win-win.
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Last year, in about 3 months,
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we purchased almost 5,000 pieces
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and distributed them across the country.
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And we should be able to do much more than that.
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The solar solution is in line
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with what we think our consumers require.
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They need power every day.
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With that kind of solution,
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you have a 2-sqm kiosk,
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where you can charge your phone,
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where you can put a TV, where you can have your fridge,
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I think that is a plus.
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The whole town doesn’t have electricity.
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The reason why we have this is
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because we want to bring electricity to this town.
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We have fridges that give us cold water, cold sodas,
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we have printing services,
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it gives us Internet by Wi-Fi,
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and charges phones for the locals.
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Winch Energy is a distributor
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for our solar energy solutions
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in the local, remote areas,
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to reach the last-mile customer.
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Whenever we sell a solar lamp,
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we impact five people in a household, on average.
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We are the fortunate ones:
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the customer comes to us.
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It is like killing two birds with one stone.
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Number 1, you’re talking of solar, which is the future.
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And, at the same time, you’re making a relationship.
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We are all ambassadors.
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When any solar product comes in,
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we also have it, we also use it.
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Somebody buys a lamp and he is given a 2-year warranty.
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We have all the countrywide stations.
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So we can say to them with confidence that,
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"if something goes wrong,
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please come to us, go to any TOTAL,
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and that’s it, we’ll sort you out.”
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They are loving it.
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In fact, a couple of customers are gifting them,
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when somebody goes to their village,
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to see their grandparents,
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they can say,
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“Ok, let me buy you a solar kit.”
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It is transforming us
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from a fuel, oil and gas company
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into an energy company.
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Especially with the streetlights we have.
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They have been accepted by the different authorities.
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So they’re seeing us from a different perspective,
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as a positive contributor to the country.
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It has helped my team to become
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more innovative and more dynamic.
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I make chapatis, wraps, snacks and pizzas.
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With solar energy, I’m saving on my electricity bill.
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Solar energy is helping me increase profits in my business.