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.