Africa Rural Electrification to Power-Up This Month at 3rd Africa Mini Grids Summit 2016 in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 10, 2016 --(PR.com)-- The 3rd Africa Mini Grids Summit 2016 will convene this month on November 28-29 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This third edition of the Africa-wide conference will once again gather key decision and policy makers along with the power players in the mini grids sector to share their invaluable expertise and experience in providing for the continent's rapidly-increasing power requirements.

Mini grids have been identified as a key platform to address critical electrification shortages in Africa. Creating successful mini grid ecosystems beyond pilot projects are now the focus of African governments facing severe shortages especially for their off-grid populations. Foundations, donors and organizations are stepping up their financial support for mini grids, e.g. in Tanzania alone the World Bank is setting the pace with a $209 million financing for a six-year Rural Electrification Expansion Programme. Africa can lead the way with plentiful renewable resources, an increasingly tech savvy populations encouraged by the mobile phones technology leap, presence of world class telcos and less incumbent infrastructure to obstruct new models.

Regional energy authorities leading the discussions at this 2016 Summit include the Rural Electrification Authorities/Agencies (REAs) of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia along with the Ministry of Water, Irrigation & Energy, Ethiopia.

Among the distinguished experts providing new knowledge and insights are: Prof Abubakr S Bahaj, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Head of Energy & Climate Change Division, University of Southampton, UK, and Chief Scientific Adviser, Southampton City, UK; and Helvi Ileka, Project Officer at the Namibia Energy Institute, Namibia University of Science & Technology.

Private sector stakeholders who will share their expertise and practical applications at the 2016 Conference include: Matthias Hermes, Director of European Sales, Aquion Energy, USA; Daniel Becker, CEO, Rafiki Power, Germany / E.ON Off Grid Solutions, Tanzania; Sam Slaughter, Managing Director, PowerGen Renewable Energy, Kenya; and Dr Michael H Gera, Managing Partner, Energy Access Ventures, France.

Showcasing their latest technologies at the event are exhibitors: Aquion Energy, USA, Rafiki Power, Germany / E.ON Off Grid Solutions, Tanzania, and Fluidic Energy, USA.

The CEO of the conference-organizing company, Magenta Global, Singapore, Maggie Tan, added, “Improving electrification in rural Africa is a paramount priority for most of the Governments in Africa. With less than 15% of rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding South Africa) having access to electricity, strategies for creating commercially-viable small power producers and mini grids in rural areas, businesses and public institutions are critically needed. The time is right and the technology is available to create economically and financially sustainable mini grids to power communities and businesses.” Ms Tan encouraged all companies and organizations to contribute to the development of this renewable energy sector by being part of this key event.

The 3rd Africa Mini Grids Summit 2016 is held in collaboration with Knowledge Partner Energy for Development (e4D) Network / University of Southampton and supported by: the Alliance for Rural Electrification (ARE), the African Network for Solar Energy (ANSOLE), and the South African Alternative Energy Association (SAAEA).

The two-day event will be held at the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.