AMP Eswatini’s Product Support Specialist discusses the impact he hopes to make through rural electrification and capacity development. He works with an enthusiastic team that helps communities build sustainable enterprises to improve livelihoods while protecting the environment.
Each month, the Africa Minigrids Program aims to spotlight an individual from one of the participating countries who has been working tirelessly to advance the initiative at the regional or national level.
October’s Champion of the Month, Dabulamanzi Lukhele works as a Product Support Specialist with the Small Enterprises Development Corporation of Eswatini (SEDCO) to support the initiative. SEDCO is a local partner in the implementation of AMP Eswatini.
Q: What’s your story—how did you end up working in the clean energy industry?
A: I found myself working in the clean energy industry through a cooperation agreement signed by the Eswatini Energy Regulatory Authority ESERA and the Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) to expedite the implementation of the Africa Minigrids Program (AMP).
Q: Briefly describe your role and involvement with AMP so far.
A: I work alongside my colleagues from the Capacity Development and Sector Support department at SEDCO, with whom I conduct business development support for small businesses and facilitate stakeholder engagement, market research and data collection in the AMP project areas. This entails assessing proposed enterprises that are part of the Productive Energy Uses (PEU) activities at the AMP’s pilot sites by looking at the prospective target markets, the electrical equipment required, and the capital to be financed, amongst other focal areas. We also undertake mentorship and coaching for new business enterprises and offer technical capacitation on the selected business activities by the communities.
Q: What excites you most about the potential of AMP, specifically in your country?
A: I am mainly excited by the socio-economic benefits of the AMP in Eswatini and how it has the potential to foster great possibilities for entrepreneurship and the development of innovative business models in the country. The AMP can also help improve the quality of life for school children in remote communities by providing lighting for their homes with power from minigrids where they ordinarily had to use candles for lighting, for example.
I am also excited about the AMP’s potential to scale up rural electrification using minigrids and its propensity to promote expanded access and services to clean energy, not just in the current pilots but also in other areas where gaps in electricity connections exist due to accessibility challenges. I am optimistic that the outcomes of the AMP Eswatini pilot projects will help open up opportunities for clean energy connections in Eswatini.
Q: What is one thing you want people to know about minigrids and access to electricity?
A: Minigrids are the future for remote communities as they can be a least-cost solution to close the energy access gap in most developing countries, as stated by the World Bank, and I could not agree any less as I have seen the positive impact they have in the communities I am working in at present.