Renewable energy sector: Kenya is the regional renewable energy leader

Saleem Abdulla, Managing Director of Sollatek Electronics talks about the renewable energy sector in Kenya.

What are the products you want to push more and that are generating the most revenue?

I believe the big opportunity here lies in the renewable energy sector, particularly in the solar business, given its very aspirational nature. Five years ago, having a portable solar lamp was considered to be an achievement for your typical rural customer. Today, that same customer is aiming for a solar home system, which includes four lamps that can light up the four rooms of his home. As such, that’s where the big opportunity lies and where we wish to focus our efforts. We have some terrifically innovative product offerings, which are very aspirational and scalable. Scalability is the ‘in thing’ in the renewable energy sector. You cannot sell something that you are unable to expand on, i.e. sell a solution and then say “I can’t offer you a solution beyond this.”

Energy needs are all-encompassing. People need energy for virtually everything, so you can start by offering energy for lighting, then you want to offer people energy for other things, such as cooking, security, hot water, etc. We feel that’s where our focus should be, but that is not to say that the power control sector is devoid of opportunity, that it is saturated or that we have absorbed all existing opportunities. As I mentioned, the middle class is continually growing. More and more people are able to afford electrical appliances, such as a TV or a refrigerator. These appliances need to be protected, because unfortunately – or fortunately for us – electricity supply is not very reliable in this country or the wider region. This means that whenever someone buys an electrical appliance, they need to buy something with which to protect it, which is where the opportunity lies for us.