Jaza Energy
Model & Strategy
Jaza Energy provides access to clean and affordable energy for rural, low-income households in Sub-Saharan Africa. Their home power pack rental service is 100% women-operated and has been designed to serve homes that earn less than $2 a day. At the end of 2023, Jaza powered over 223,000 people, resulting in 74,812 metric tons of GHG emissions offset by replacing kerosene with solar power. They are on track to power over 330,000 people by the end of 2024.
The Problem
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 600 million people currently live without access to electricity. Electrification rates fall as low as 3.4% in rural areas, and in those areas connected to the grid, service is often intermittent and unreliable. Over 125 million households in Africa lack access to affordable clean energy, and over 70 million off-grid households earn less than $2 per day. In Tanzania, these rural off-grid communities comprise 81% of the population.
Over the past decade, efforts have been made to extend grid access, yet the pace of progress has been overwhelmed by high population growth. The number of people without access to electricity is expected to remain at current levels well into the next decade. Access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy (Sustainable Development Goal #7) results in reduced rates of poverty, increased opportunity, and improved health and productivity. Existing energy solutions are expensive, unreliable, and have not been developed to meet the specific needs of rural, low-income, and economically vulnerable households. Generic solar home systems often fail within six months, and pay-as-you-go options can be unaffordable for consumers at the base of the pyramid.
The Solution
Jaza Energy has developed an innovative battery swap business that provides clean solar energy to last-mile rural Tanzanian and Nigerian households earning less than $2 per day. Jaza operates a physical network of solar-powered village hubs staffed by local women, which serve as both the battery charging station and the point of customer engagement and service. By providing access to affordable, clean energy to customers at the base of the pyramid, Jaza reverses the cycle of energy poverty and combats the adverse environmental and health impacts of kerosene usage. Additionally, by recruiting and training local women, Jaza empowers rural women from marginalized populations to uplift their communities. Known as Jaza Stars, these women are both literally and figuratively sources of light in their communities.
After careful site selection, Jaza joins a last-mile community by delivering and unboxing a ready-made hub with solar panels, a large backup battery, charging stations, and internet connectivity. Each solar hub charges and recharges battery packs that are deployed to power customers’ homes. Over the past 12 months, Jaza has also used energy hubs to power telecommunication towers which are currently powered by generators, furthering the company’s reduction in GHG emissions. Jaza is on a mission to empower the 1.2 billion people living without electricity. They are starting by powering the 160 million people currently living without access to electricity in Nigeria and Tanzania.
Jaza is led by co-founder and CEO Jeff Schnurr, an experienced entrepreneur with a deep history in Tanzania. Prior to Jaza, Jeff founded and served for ten years as CEO of Community Forests International, a nonprofit that connects people to the forests that sustain them in Tanzania and has empowered communities to plant more than 3 million trees. In 2015, Jeff was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Impact
To date, Jaza technology has powered over 223,000 people; they are on track to serve 333,200 people by year-end 2024.
Jaza has employed over 267 women to deliver clean, sustainable energy to last-mile communities.
By replacing kerosene and generators as a lighting source, Jaza has offset 74,812 metric tons of GHG emissions to date.
