The second edition of Africa Solar will be held from May 23 to 25, 2019 at the Convention Center in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. For the organisers of this meeting and for the Rwandan government, Africa Solar is a new way to present this East African country as a “key” destination for doing business in renewable energy. Rwanda is one of the countries with the most important solar resources in the world.
For this second edition, more than 2,800 participants from 15 countries are expected. The exchanges will be conducted over 72 hours around the following main themes: solar panels, rural electricity production systems, compact systems for residential, commercial and industrial electrification, batteries and accessories, solar emergency lighting, solar heating….
Participating in the fair offers the opportunity to:
– Find new buyers or distributors in East Africa
– Promote the identity and brand image of companies in the solar energy sector and expand their customer portfolio
– Launch new products or services.
The first edition was held in Rwanda in November 2017 and had a high participation rate of more than 2800 experts from 15 countries around the world.
By 2018, Rwanda ranked 5th in the world in terms of promoting renewable energy, according to a study by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Rwanda’s progress in this ranking is due to the expansion of off-grid energy on the ground. In addition, by 2017, 185,000 domestic solar lamps and 300,000 solar lamps had been installed throughout the country.
Rwanda has high ambitions in the energy sector. With regard to access to electricity, for example, the government has decided in recent years to ensure full coverage by 2024 (in 2018, only 30% of the population had access to electricity). A goal that it intends to achieve by focusing on solar energy.
Luchelle Feukeng