Tanzania
1. Neema - From Solar Aid website Feb 2008
We are working to put three different sales strategies into place. Most of the Neema Craft Cafe Gift Shop customers are tourists and expatriates to whom micro-solar offers little beyond novelty. Our first sales strategy is a simple principle of improving visibility to Tanzanians by setting up a sales table outside of the Neema Craft Cafe on a busy pedestrian road.
Three members of the solar team, Joely, Mateso, and Khsimu, work at the sales table assembling solar panels and answering questions for customers and passers-by. This high profile location puts our solar products where our potential customers can see them and ask questions in a non-intimidating environment. In only a few weeks we have seen a steady rise in sales.
Our second sales strategy is to move the points of sale into the surrounding villages using existing contacts in the Anglican Church diocese to identify experienced sellers in thirteen villages among the ten districts of the Iringa Region.
Products and accessories will be sold through existing village shops, and employees of the shops will be trained by Neema Crafts on both the operation and benefits of the products and proper sales techniques. We hope to move forward with this strategy as funding becomes available. This plan will place our solar products within a public minibus ride of everyone in the Iringa Region.
Our third sales strategy is to hire and train travelling sales people to sell our products in Iringa town and outlaying villages within cycling distance. Because these sales people can easily return to Neema Craft as needed to replenish their stock they will not need to carry a large inventory. This will allow us to give them inventory on commission with no start-up cost. A specially designed mobile kiosk will allow sales people who use hand powered tricycles to sell effectively.
We hope that by providing high quality printed sales support materials and training we can boost solar sales while providing additional employment to the disabled. Mateso, who is deaf, plans to begin selling solar in the large deaf community in the village of Mtwivila. Even moderate sales of 13 panels per month with assorted accessories would earn a sales person a standard wage of about 62,000 Tsh (£1 = 2,350 Tanzanian shillings).
We are confident that the implementation of these three strategies, which should be completed in the first quarter of 2008, will dramatically increase our sales well into profitability while providing affordable solar power to hundreds of households.
Annie Hostetter and Chris Hartley, volunteers in Tanzania
Mobile Phone Charging - Battery problem solved
Originally the group was having a problem with charging all types of cell phone batteries. Nickel Metal Hydride batteries could be charged without problems, however the Lithium Ion Batteries (often newer brands) would not charge with a solar panel. Research by the trainers found that even the more expensive solar panels from the UK - which purported to charge all mobile phones - would not charge phones with a Lithium Ion battery.
While researching local mobile technology, however, John discovered the ‘Kobe’ Universal Phone Charger. This piece of technology, developed in China, is designed to fit into car cigarette sockets and after testing it was found that, when connected to the 1 watt panels, it would charge all mobile phone batteries.
The ‘Kobe’ is designed to charge all mobile phone batteries. The battery must be taken out of the phone, and the charger has a set of adjustable pins to accommodate the style of all mobile phone batteries. (A variety of different phone batteries were tested).
