advertisement
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Reddit

Coke’s shop-in-a-can brings solar-powered 3G and water to rural Africa

Metal containers and the Coca-Cola company go hand-in-hand, but not usually in the way the firm is currently demonstrating in Rwanda. It’s just opened up a new pilot kiosk as part of its Ekocenter CSR project, which pairs a small solar powered shop with a 3G base station for community connectivity.

The Rwandan project is one of 24 Ekocenter shops which have been installed by the company since 2013, and the first to include the 3G antenna on the side. The Ekocenter is an aluminium framed kiosk which is given to a small storeholder in a rural area, and arrives fully stocked with solar panels on the roof to supply power. Each Ekocenter includes a water pump and filtration system which is used to supply locals with clean water too.

“The most difficult part of finding a site that’s suitable is finding the water source or borehole,” Coke’s Alan Wodruff told htxt.africa, “Each centre is stocked with goods that are personalised for a particular vendor, but the idea is that we’re investing in sustainable businesses which can then support themselves.”

Woodruff says that the firm has been working out the best way to install Ekocenters over the last two years, and typically it begins a new project by talking to community elders in an area and selecting the most promising entrepreneurs. It’s specifically targetting female storeholders, and all beneficiaries so far have been women.

“Our initial funding includes training and goods,” Woodruff says, who says that part of the reason whole communities are involved in the decision about who runs the store is to encourage a collective responsibility for the water supply and reduce the likelihood of thefts of equipment or goods.

The plan is to deliver a further 150 Ekocenters this year, and look for other partners to fund more after that.

The 3G mast on the latest pilot has been supplied by Ericsson and connected to the Tigo network. The antenna array includes a small satellite dish for backhaul and should provide shop owners with an extra revenue stream as rent from mobile operators. It also means, of course, that the shop owners can conduct transactions using mobile money and provide access to services for information and entertainment on top of selling goods.

It’s a similar idea to the recent pilot in the Eastern Cape and Mpumulanga, in which Coke is providing WiFi basestations in vending machines to empower communities by providing free access to the internet in areas with high foot traffic.

[Image – Coca Cola]

advertisement

About Author

advertisement

Related News

advertisement