From the Field

As Hugo mentioned in his last post, EGG-energy has outgrown our old office space.  With eight full-time people in the Dar es Salaam office, and a few more joining us soon, the initially cozy headquarters were beginning to feel cramped. Last Friday, with help from EGG staff, we moved the office to an airy and well-designed space in an area called Makumbusho, about six kilometers north of Dar’s city center. We are excited to have a more comfortable place to work with our growing team, and one where we can confidently welcome visitors and host meetings with business partners. Our next step towards improving our work environment will be to buy bicycles (which we will, of course, paint bright orange) for the commute.

The beginning of 2012 brings many new faces to EGG-energy! Jodie Wu and myself arrived early January. Jodie was like some of EGG cofounders an MIT student. An Echoing Green fellow (www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/jodie-wu), she is the co-founder and current CEO of Global Cycle Solutions (lien vers http://gcstz.com/), a company created 3 years ago in Arusha (North of Tanzania). She will be working this year as consultant for sales & marketing at EGG-energy.

In addition to Jodie and me, two new employees were hired a few weeks ago to help us with corporate support activities in Dar es Salaam:

Sophia Nyoni, office assistant:

Sophia started to work for EGG-energy 3 weeks ago. After discovering our activities and visiting our stations in Mbagala and Chanika, she is now responsible for gathering, archiving and classifying operational data, translating internal and external documents, conducting surveys on the field and running errands. Welcome Sophia!

About Sophia:

Sophia is a 23 years old Tanzanian. After finishing her advanced level studies in Loyola secondary school, she worked as a data collector in a faith based organisation known as Catholic Relief Services (helping the most vulnerable children in orphans). After this first experience, she was hired as a field officer in Global Fund “PACT” organisation (also working to improve children’s lives). Before joining EGG-energy, Sophia was working as a research assistant in an organisation called “AMEND”, which is responsible for road traffic and injuries.

Herry Nasser, Office Manager and Accounts Assistant:

Herry started to work with EGG-energy at the beginning of February. He is in charge of payroll and manages our company’s relationships with local institutions regarding staff and administrative issues. More specifically, he is responsible for all human resources related issues. He will also assist with company accounting and purchasing. Welcome Herry!

About Herry:

Herry, 28 years old, was born in Tanzania and has lived in many Southern African countries. He first went to high school in Zimbabwe and then to college in South Africa. After getting a diploma in sales and marketing and a diploma in Information Technology in Cape Town, South Africa, Herry got his first job in a travel agency in Cape Town as a Sales and Marketing officer.  Then he came back to live in Dar Es Salaam and worked more than 5 years for a Health insurance company, first as a corporate relationship officer and then as an office manager. Just before EGG-energy, Herry spent a few months in England which he enjoyed discovering.

When none of us is out in the field, there are now 8 persons in the office. It was time to move to a larger company space, which we are scheduled to do very soon.

EGG-energy head quarter team:

Jamie Yang (CEO), Solomon Faraji (COO), Samson Msami (Subscription Manager), Sophia & Herry, Jodie Wu (Consultant Sales & Marketing), 2 fellows: Anne Raymond and myself.

My next post will certainly be written from the new office and we look forward to hosting you there!

Till then,

Hugo

The EGG-energy station in Iringa is open for business, so if you want to come in and purchase an installation today, welcome!   From downtown Iringa,  head west to the bus station at Mlandege.  From there, continue along Kalenga Road past a series of corn and rice mills until you see a bright orange EGG-energy “Wakala” (“agent”) sign on your right.  Mr. Said Kibwana, EGG-energy’s franchisee in Iringa, his technician Saleh, and secretary Farida will be happy to explain EGG’s services, prices, and how to get electricity installed in your home.

Said Kibwana in front of his franchise's office and charging station

When I traveled to Iringa last November, I enjoyed a peaceful stay at Said Kibwana’s farm in Ingomtwa, a village about 60km outside Iringa town.  He was using his farmhouse as a base for EGG-energy operations at the time, as the franchise was still new and he had not yet rented an office in town.  For the past two months, Mr. Kibwana has been adding customers in villages around Ingomtwa, streamlining his record-keeping and distribution systems, and setting up an office on one of Iringa’s busiest streets.  I returned to Iringa at the end of January for an 10-day visit.  Though I was not able to watch the sunset over newly plowed corn fields or see my breath in the cold morning air as I could at the farm, I was able to help Kibwana ready the new station and prepare to expand the franchise.

The EGG station and its neighbors

The Iringa franchise currently has 19 customers.  Each customer has at least one battery for lights, and six have an additional battery to power a mobile phone charging business.  Due to our initial focus in and around Ingomtwa, all current customers are located in villages at least 20km from the charging station in Iringa.  To bring EGG’s service to these rural areas, Kibwana has developed an innovative distribution network.  He charges the batteries at the grid-connected station in Iringa, then uses buses, motorcycles, bicycles and people on foot to deliver the batteries to distributors in several different villages.  Customers can then swap their battery at the local distributor. This distribution network demonstrates one of the benefits of working with a local franchisee, as use of public transport to lower distribution costs requires Kibwana’s in-depth knowledge of the area and close relationships with local people.

Street view east from station along Kalenga Rd.

Over the next month, we plan to strengthen EGG-energy’s presence in Iringa town, and to acquire customers who live in the semi-urban area close to the new station.  Although grid electricity is available in the town, many residents cannot afford it.  Given the relatively high population density we hope to build a base of EGG customers within easy walking or bicycling distance of the new station.  These customers will help increase the size and reputation of the Kibwana’s EGG-energy franchise in Iringa without adding strain to the rural distribution network.

Hugo Niccolai and I will continue to report on Iringa as the station grows.

View of Iringa from the hills above town