WATT ARE YOU DOING #2: Interview of a Fonroche Business Manager in Kenya
[IN LIVE FROM NAIROBI – KENYA]
Today, for the second edition of WATT ARE YOU DOING, we are meeting one of our colleagues based in Nairobi, in Kenya. His name is ODEGIH! Ken ODEGIH. He is Public Projects Business Development Manager for Fonroche Eastern Africa. In order to know him better, we asked him some questions.
Ken, how did you know Fonroche Lighting and why have you chosen to work for this company?
I knew Fonroche Lighting through their flagship project in Senegal of 50,000 units of solar streetlights; the single biggest solar streetlight project in the world. Fonroche ability to secure such a huge project amidst competition, made me pick more interest. So, I search more information about their professional approach to solar streetlight projects and I was super excited to be part of this amazing adventure.
I was also motivated by Fonroche corporate culture of open-door policy and absolute believe in peoples’ potential and contribution to the Company’s goals. This is a key differentiator for companies when compared to their competitors, besides the eagerness of everyone in the company to offer assistance at any time.
What are your main responsibilities? How many countries are you covering?
My main responsibilities are engaging with the regional Governments, Non-Governmental organizations and Private Developers. They are keen in undertaking public solar streetlight projects, and championing for our solar streetlight solutions adoption and implementation in their projects. I undertake this in the entire Eastern Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
What share of the market represents solar lighting in Kenya? Is government involved in solar lighting solution?
Solar lighting market in Kenya is one of the fastest growing in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Government is gradually and steadily getting involved in using green energy. Indeed, it is both developing regulations and standards, and above all, it chooses solar streetlights to meet the needs in off grid areas.
Are you planning to participate to any exhibitions in Eastern Africa this year in 2019?
We recently participated in the Council of Governors 6th Annual Devolution Conference 2019, and we had a great appreciation of our systems and solution. This coming year, we intend to participate in the upcoming Future Energy East Africa Conference and Expo scheduled for the 17 – 18th of September, 2019, amongst other upcoming expos.
What is the feedback you have from exhibition visitors on Fonroche innovative solution?
Visitors have applauded our solutions and in particular our bespoke approach for every project. Furthermore, they were pleasantly surprised that Fonroche Lighting solved the biggest challenge of battery failure by using NiMH technology. This battery guarantees 365 nights of light per year without outage and with the first service at 10 years.
Thank you Ken for your feedback.
If as Ken you want to develop Fonroche solar solutions around the world, you can apply on our website. Do not hesitate to follow us on LinkedIn in order to stay aware of our news and job opportunities.
