The Namene Namibia team are delivering life-changing clean technology products to new customers in some of the most remote communities in the country’s rural north. 

At Namene, our mission is to empower every community through clean technology. Often, those who benefit most from our products live off-grid and in some of the most hard-to-reach areas of the world. 

We are committed to reaching these customers and at the end of last year, our team in Namibia entered the remote Oshikoto region for the first time to offer clean technology solutions to the homes and communities there.

Delivering clean technology off-grid in Namibia

The Namene Team in Namibia with their mobile solar light and solar charger sales and servicing van.

As a rural region, Oshikoto is serviced by just one road, though few residents have a car or form of transport. The road connects a string of small towns surrounded by rural homesteads and communal land and farmers – most of whom live completely off-grid with no energy access.

In a specially converted fuel-efficient and brightly branded Suzuki van, nicknamed ‘Zuki,’ by the Namibia team, we are distributing solar lights, Zafi solar chargers and Zeri power banks across the Oshikoto region’s communities. These devices provide electricity and light to charge customers’ phones and replace carbon dioxide -emitting kerosene lamps. 

Crucially, Zuki will help the Namene Namibia team to not only sell and distribute, but also repair and maintain customers’ existing Namene products in future. The modified van has all the tools and component parts needed to deliver on-site servicing and repairs. 

We are committed to providing clean technology products that are affordable and last as long as possible. By providing after sales service and support to customers, we can ensure that they use their solar lights and solar chargers for as long as possible. 

Namene Namibia Country Director Bruce Salt said, “Breaking new ground and entering new areas in Namibia is a vital part of our commitment to reaching every community with clean energy solutions. Not only are we providing high-quality products at an affordable price for our customers, but we also offer our dedicated after sales service, to ensure these products are providing light and power for customers for years.”

Achieving SDG7 with affordable, durable clean energy products 

In addition to the roving distribution team, Namene has also opened five Namene branded stores in commercial retail spaces across all five of Namibia’s regions, which sell and service Namene lights and products for rural customers.   

In Namibia, 54% of the population have no electricity access. In rural areas, this figure is even higher, at 65%. Previously, these families used kerosene lights and candles for light, but now Namene offers them an affordable, sustainable cleantech solution for the first time. 

Each year, a single solar light avoids a minimum of 92kg CO₂ and unlocks additional hours of light for users to read, study, socialise or work. This directly contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, and is one of the metrics Namene uses to measure our impact across our carbon projects. 

Namene’s customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Especially for Namene solar lights, which are often used to light stalls for vendors. In winter, when it gets darker much earlier, the solar lights help light up stalls or longer hours without additional fuel costs, enabling them to earn more money. 

In Namibia, we have already distributed over 300,000 solar lights in less than two years  – reaching over a million people out of a population of 2.5 million. are helping most of those without electricity, and rapidly helping Nambia to eradicate fossil fuels-based lighting countrywide.