NAIROBI, Aug. 29 — Beneath the lights of a wedding ceremony on the vast plains of Kenya’s Maasai Mara, drums echo across the grassland as people dance late into the night.
Hundreds of kilometers away, in the Kakuma refugee camp, a small cinema can screen an entire football match without worrying about a sudden power cut.Behind these everyday scenes lies a broader change.In Kenya, where dispersed populations and the high cost of extending conventional power grids leave many remote communities without reliable electricity, Chinese off-grid solar systems are offering another way to bridge the energy “last mile.”For communities not yet linked to the conventional grid, these self-contained systems’ steady supply of electricity creates new opportunities in education, communications, agriculture and small businesses.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY
Simon Masago, a Maasai Mara community chief, remembers when weddings and traditional ceremonies depended on costly diesel generators, with the constant risk of running out of fuel or losing power in the middle of a celebration.”With the Chinese solar and energy storage equipment, we have stable electricity for the first time,” he said.
Reliable power has extended community life after dark and allowed traditional celebrations to continue as planned.Electricity is also reaching more rural schools. In some communities, students once had to finish their homework before daylight faded. Now, electricity generated and stored during the day can light classrooms after dark.”Before, they could only do their homework while there was daylight. Now they can study at night as well,” Masago said.
A similar change is taking place in Kakuma, home to refugees from several countries. With basic infrastructure still limited, reliable electricity has long been difficult to secure.
Refugee Fidel Aganze said Chinese solar and storage equipment has greater capacity and is more durable than the conventional batteries previously used.Wycliffe Barasa, head of a local non-governmental organization, said there had previously been few energy solutions suited to the realities of the camp.
According to a report released by United Nations agencies in June on progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 7, which focuses on affordable and clean energy, 655 million people worldwide still lacked access to electricity, including more than 560 million in sub-Saharan Africa.In areas where populations are scattered and extending the grid is costly, off-grid photovoltaic systems are emerging as an increasingly practical option. A solar panel, a storage battery and an inverter can form a small “power station,” bringing electricity to communities that conventional grids have yet to reach.
LOWERING BARRIERS TO GREEN ENERGY
Access to electricity is only part of the challenge. People must also be able to afford it.For many African households, the upfront cost of equipment remains a major barrier. Farmers, livestock keepers and small traders may need electricity but lack the cash to make a large one-time payment.
Chinese companies are responding by adapting their business models to local conditions.Leveraging M-Pesa, Kenya’s widely used mobile payment platform, some companies have introduced pay-as-you-go models, allowing users to pay for equipment in small weekly or monthly installments.The approach better matches the irregular income patterns of many farmers and livestock keepers, lowering the initial barrier to adopting solar energy.
China’s mature photovoltaic manufacturing chain is also helping bring down costs. As equipment becomes more affordable, solar lighting and energy storage products are moving beyond specialized projects and into households and small businesses.Jacqueline Kimeu, an energy and climate change specialist in Kenya, said Chinese companies are bringing “far more than equipment,” offering energy solutions tailored to local market needs.”People used to think modern life could only arrive when the national power grid arrived. Off-grid solar offers another possibility,” said Zhang Chuang, head of a Chinese new-energy company operating in Kenya.From manufacturing and cost control to payment models, he said, China’s industrial strengths, combined with local demand, are enabling off-grid solar to reach communities without waiting for the conventional grid to cover the entire country.
UNLOCKING GROWTH POTENTIAL
In Kakuma, more reliable electricity is also transforming economic activity.
Thirty-year-old David Elen runs a small cinema where local residents gather to watch football matches. Before he installed a Chinese-made solar-plus-storage system, power cuts frequently interrupted broadcasts and drove customers away.”With the backup power, my business has become much more stable,” he said.
Nearby, a small phone-charging business gets dozens of customers a day. On busier days, nearly 100 people come for its service.In Kenya, mobile phones are not only communication tools but also essential for mobile payments, especially for individuals and small businesses. Reliable electricity is therefore vital for phone-charging firms.In rural areas, solar power is also helping reduce production costs. Some farmers who previously relied on diesel pumps to irrigate their fields have switched to Chinese-made solar ones.
One farmer said that lower irrigation costs helped raise output by about 30 percent, and the additional income enabled him to better support his children’s education. Solar power is no longer simply a source of lighting; it is becoming a productive asset.From the Maasai Mara to Kakuma, from classroom lighting to farm irrigation, electricity is beginning to reshape daily life and livelihoods in remote communities. As conventional grids continue to expand, off-grid solutions can help fill the gaps where grid infrastructure remains difficult to extend.By combining technology, manufacturing capacity and locally adapted business models, Chinese new-energy solutions are helping bring the benefits of green development closer to African communities, while adding a tangible dimension to China-Africa cooperation in green transition.
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