MD/CEO follow-up visit to Petti community in Kwali LGA of the FCT with Guangzhe Chen , the VP for Infrastructure at the @WorldBank and Franz Drees-Gross, Director of Infrastructure, West Africa, I was thrilled to meet them better than we had left them. With the presence of the 60kW solar-powered mini-grid in that community, more families and households have been powered, and new businesses have sprung up.
Over the visit, I was delighted to meet Samuel, a young man who runs a cybercafé in Petti. After learning of the electricity intervention in his community, this young man, after acquiring digital skills and certifications, chose to return home and set up shop for the benefit of his people. He runs his establishment not only as a cybercafé but also as a training centre where, in a year, individuals leave well-equipped with new digital skills. His dreams go beyond his business as he hopes to become a teacher in academia as another form of making an impact in his community.
One of the many other things that stood out to me is the adoption of electronic and digital commerce/payments within the community. I was happy to learn that the community leverages various digital means to purchase units for their prepaid metres and perform other transactions, all from the comfort of their homes, courtesy of #renewableenergy Witnessing communal growth and development such as this is what makes our work at the REA worthwhile. A sense of hope and the ability to dream and aspire for better is our desire for rural dwellers.