Entrepreneurship Zone: 30 March 2023 :: Zimbabwe: How this entrepreneur built an off-grid solar company

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Entrepreneurship Zone: 30 March 2023 ::  Zimbabwe: How this entrepreneur
built an off-grid solar company

 

	
 




 

The off-grid solar company Zonful Energy has powered over 30,000 homes and
currently has a subsidiary business in Mozambique as part of its regional
expansion strategy.

As a boy, William Ponela always hated being stuck in the dark after the
paraffin-powered lamps in the family’s home ran dry.

Raised by his grandparents in rural Chivi, a district in southern Zimbabwe,
the homestead could not afford a regular lighting source. This forced him to
miss hours of study time, particularly when cloudy skies blocked even the
faint light from the moon.

“During the rainy season, we would sleep very early because the whole place
would be dark, since there was no moonlight. So I kept thinking and asking
myself: ‘How can people get access to uninterrupted electricity?'”.

After graduating as an engineer from the University of Zimbabwe, Ponela
worked for several companies before striking out on his own and forming a
business specialising in solar systems. He spent half a decade on research
and accumulated a wealth of trial-and-error experience before settling on
the business model for Zonful Energy.

“We are customer-centric, so the five years was to listen to the customer
and fine-tune our product to suit the customers’ requirements. So by the
time we launched in 2016, we had gone through a process where we had tried a
number of products,” he said.

His initial startup capital was US$50,000, raised through crowdfunding with
the assistance of Kiva, an international non-profit that crowdfunds and
lends to underserved communities. The funding came after Ponela travelled to
Dubai to pitch his idea at an energy conference.

He also got funding from Persistent Energy – a Swiss-based company which
initially provided a convertible loan of $410,000 and then chose to convert
the loan into equity.

Ponela also won a business competition, the Africa Enterprise Challenge
Fund, where his idea was awarded $1 million. Part of that award required him
to match funds for every dollar received, which is how Persistent Energy,
and another firm, Energy Access Ventures (now E3) became involved. Of the $1
million he received from the companies, $400,000 was extended as a
non-repayable grant; the rest is a non-interest-bearing loan. The funds have
allowed the company to scale in a market that is hungry for services.

Zonful has experienced substantial growth, creating 70 direct jobs and more
than 2,000 indirect jobs. Its solar products have provided energy to over
30,000 households across the nation, with rural homes constituting 80% of
the total. Customers can either pay upfront or opt for a pay-as-you-go plan
after making a modest initial deposit, with the remaining balance spread
over 18 to 24 months.

“My family has benefited a lot from these products since my family now has
access to good lighting for home study. My children are able to study at
night and enjoy home entertainment by watching TV. We no longer have
hardships in charging cell phones,” said Forbes Vela, a Zonful customer.
Vela had bought two of the company’s solar-for-the-home products.

Currently, the company is working on a regional expansion strategy and has
a subsidiary in Mozambique.



Zonful Energy staff installing solar panels in Zimbabwe.

 


- Howwemadeitinafrica

 

 


 


 


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