Summit Highlights
The opening speech to launch the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, really hit a chord with Eight19’s mission to bring affordable solar lighting to developing markets. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon touchingly recalled how as a young boy in post-war Korea,
“A simple light bulb illuminated a whole new world of opportunity for me, enabling me to study day and night”
Eight19 aims to contribute to fulfilling Mr Ban’s wish to bring this same opportunity to children who lack access to power today and to make a lasting impact on their lives. IndiGo pay-as-you-go solar provides a sustainable solution go address the wider problem of providing clean electricity to off-grid communities.
Photo: Eight19 ask SG Ban Ki-moon about implementing the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative, 16 Jan 2012
Royal Review
Eight19 were delighted to receive interest from visitors to our stand from many new markets including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Yemen, Uganda, North Sudan, India and Pakistan. We look forward to exploring these opportunities to allow IndiGo to transform as many peoples’ lives as possible. This included a presentation to HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi who inspected Eight19's IndiGo pay-as-you-go solar system and elected to retain one.
Photo: Crown Prince & IndiGo, 18 Jan 2012
With the launch of the Kickstart Fund in conjunction with SolarAid, we received great interest in securing project finance to go beyond our initial goal of 4,000 IndiGo units in East Africa in the coming months. Combined with two conference presentations by Eight19’s CEO Simon Bransfield-Garth, word spread at the summit of this innovative approach to electrification and people were keen to see what all the noise was about; with unique website hits up significantly.
Looking Ahead..
The latest news from the ground in South Sudan confirms that the up-front cost of solar is preventing its uptake whereas the introduction last week of IndiGo pay-as-you-go solar suddenly makes solar power affordable for these people. Eight19 starts the year with high goals to implement 4,000 IndiGo units in the next few months in East Africa and aim to achieve impact far beyond these horizons. The Eight19 team leave WFES full of inspiration and energised to bring IndiGo to the wider market.
