00:00At the Global Government Summit in Dubai a few days ago, access to electricity in Africa was at the center
00:06of discussions.
00:07While millions of people remain without energy, solutions are developing, particularly around solar microgrids.
00:13Africa News met with Waleed Sheta, President for Africa and the Maze at the Schneider Electric.
00:19It's not a secret that electricity remains a major challenge in Africa.
00:24How can LIDA truly grasp the scale of the problem?
00:30The solution will not come solely through interconnected networks as they exist in Europe.
00:36Why? Because we have a vast continent in Africa, extended with many more territories and countries.
00:43So the difficulty of having a unified network is greater.
00:47Therefore, what are now called mini-grids and microgrids, particularly using solar energy, are emerging.
00:56We believe that the energy dilemma will be solved by these relatively small networks centered around towns or villages based
01:05on solar energy,
01:06but not only to bring what is called a microgrid of electrical energy to each individual across the African territory.
01:15Whatever the source of energy, the real issue is access.
01:22We believe that a complete ecosystem is needed, not only of investors, but also of regulations and access to financing.
01:34Many donors support these electrification projects.
01:42The real challenge is to bring together people, businesses and governments to electrify every village with appropriate solution.
01:54In your expansions across Africa, which countries are currently benefiting from this expertise?
02:04There is really a boom in microgrids in Nigeria, Kenya, but not only in many countries in Central Africa.
02:11We see this evolution towards microgrid networks.
02:14This is not only for remote villages.
02:19Hotels, offices or industrial zones can also benefit, especially in areas where the network is unstable.
02:27It is then easier to connect to a solar source.
02:30You need to manage the duality of the electrical source and many initiatives.
02:35Many companies are now entering this exciting and new industry.
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