Social Issue

According to the World Bank, only 19% of the DRC’s 95.8 million inhabitants have access to electricity. They estimate that it is about 41% in urban areas and 1% in rural areas. The majority of the population is forced to resort to kerosene lamps, candles, and diesel or petrol generators, spending more than $1 billion a year on lighting. These dirty, expensive, and unsafe energy sources reduce people’s incomes, worsen their health, and impair their quality of life.

Our Response

Altech was created with the aim of alleviating this energy deficit. Its founders, Washikala Malango and Iongwa Mashangao, were refugees who were forced to flee their home village in South Kivu during the Congolese war. They grew up together in a refugee camp in Tanzania, where someone from UNHCR saw their talent and helped them get scholarships to the University of Dar es Salaam.  After graduating and winning the Washington Mandela Scholarship for Young African Leaders, they returned to the DRC with a plan. Driven by their vision to create impact, they founded the Altech Group in 2013 to address the DRC’s energy deficit. Altech is now the leading distributor and financier of solar products to provide electricity to off-grid households.

87% of units sold have been solar lanterns, mainly in rural areas, but they have diversified into solar home systems from basic to systems with TV and radios. They offer financing for all products.

Expected Social Impact

According to our theory of change, providing a loan to a company focused on providing access to clean, renewable, affordable energy to poor off-grid communities significantly improves the quality of life. The impact we hope to generate is reflected in the following points:

• More hours of light in their homes for study, leisure or productive activities.
• Better economic conditions, as kerosene is typically more expensive than basic solar alternatives. The company estimates that they have enabled savings to households of $46.7 million ($144/household).
• Improved health, due to less indoor pollution and lower fire risk.
  Increased connectivity, as solar lighting solutions often come with telephone, radio, and television charging facilities.

It is estimated that this loan could finance 1,270 solar lights and systems.