Madagascar : Bâtiment Ariane 5B Zone Galaxy Andraharo Antananarivo

Mali : Hippodrome Extension Rue 250, Porte 623, Bamako - Mali

Email: contact@welight-africa.com

Service client : Madagascar : +261 34 81 000 04 / Mali : +223 72 64 72 72

contact@welight-africa.com
rural children under a welight  solar street lamp

Together,
accelerating energy inclusion
in rural communities.

40 electrified villages in Madagascar and Mali.
+ 6 000 connected households and entrepreneurs.
+ 30 000 people benefiting from electricity.

a technician setting up welight solar solutions in rural areas

Thanks to its smart grids, cashless payment and remote monitoring system, WeLight offers its solutions at highly competitive prices in rural areas.

a village illuminated by a welight solar street lamp

By 2023, WeLight will be present in four sub-Saharan African countries.

Developping African rural communities through energy

Why WeLight?

WeLight deploys sustainable and accessible solutions to accelerate energy inclusion in rural Africa. Our ambition is to significantly impact the economic and social growth of villages.

Beyond our investments in electricity generation and distribution infrastructure, we offer a comprehensive service solution with many benefits:

  • The mini grid is an essential, clean and sustainable infrastructure, comprising a solar power plant & storage, a distribution line and a meter installed at the end consumer.
  • The life span of the equipment is over 15 years, and the programmed preventive and curative maintenance guarantees the sustainability of the services over the very long term.
  • Electricity is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with power levels covering the needs of villages, both residential and professional.
  • The electricity produced also benefits everyone through public lighting and the connection of essential infrastructures (school, town hall, health centre, etc.).
  • With its partners, WeLight provides a complete range of services (microcredit, mobile payment, productive equipment, household appliances, training for entrepreneurs, social services...) to accelerate village development.
Impact report 2021

expertises

3 complementary areas of expertise

WeLight has developed cutting-edge expertise in three complementary areas to address the challenge of bringing electricity to rural communities across Africa.

village identification

Village identification

The choice of the villages, following an analysis of energy demand and the development of economic activity, is essential. This analysis allows us to assess the feasibility of the WeLight approach and to propose a technical solution tailored to the energy requirement and the location of demand.

designing, deploying and operating mini networks

Designing, deploying and operating mini networks

With its technical partners, WeLight designs innovative solutions for the production and distribution of renewable, high-performance and affordable energy (photovoltaic and hydroelectric).
WeLight has proven its ability to efficiently deploy its complete solutions in many villages in remote and difficult to reach areas.
In its three years of existence, WeLight has demonstrated the reliability of its operations.

building customer relationships

Building customer relationships

Thanks to its smart meters and electronic payment system, WeLight makes the customer experience easy and secure.
WeLight representatives are permanently present in each village to ensure local support. WeLight has developed a capacity to support local entrepreneurs to help them take a step forward in their growth.

welight solar panels installed in rural areas
a dam in a rural area
welight solar solutions construction site in rural areas
a village benefiting from welight's off-grid solar solutions
a village benefiting from welight's off-grid solar solutions
. Achievements

WeLight is a rural electrification operator that identifies, designs, deploys and operates solar and hydro mini-grids in rural areas. To date, WeLight successfully operates 40 villages in Madagascar and Mali.

In Madagascar, WeLight has deployed 35 villages in 6 regions in 3 years, representing more than 6,000 homes and businesses connected to 24/7 electricity for 30,000 direct beneficiaries.

In Mali, WeLight launched its activities in 2021 with the installation of 5 solar mini-grids and is already serving more than 300 households in the country, for a total of more than 1,800 direct beneficiaries.

WeLight’s ambition is to replicate this approach in over 200 new sites by 2023.

“
a satisfied beneficiary of welight's rural electrification program

Testimonials

What people say

Before I had electricity, I would travel for 4 hours once a week to get gasoline and the taxi alone cost 8,000 ariary. I don´t need to anymore, and more than anything, I´ve grown my production and quadrupled my revenue.

Emma Claudine RAHOLIARIMALALA, Farmer, Fialofa

From a community point of view, public lighting has completely transformed life in our village. A lot of communal initiatives like electricity-sharing also popped up.

Caroline WOLAZASY, café owner, Betsiaka

Eventually, we would love to buy a rice husker to start a husking business.

Margerite Eliane NIRINA, farmer, Andovoranto

The lighting in our house has made our daily lives much better. My children can study with good lighting at night. I really think this will have a positive impact on their results at school.

Raymond RANDRIAMANANTENA, shopowner, Sarobaratra

Our grocery store´s revenue has doubled, and we were able to buy a house and a bicycle, which we use to transport our merchandise and do deliveries.

Jean Ernest RATOLOJANAHARY, Grocerer, Fialofa

Electricity has helped develop our village and I believe it will continue to do so. We have access to more products, we have parties more often and our social cohesion has improved thanks to the improved security and mutual aid within our community.

Kiady Faniry Victor TOKIMANDRINDRA, multiservices manager, Bemaneviky

BENEFITS

Social and economic impacts

WeLight's objective is to support economic and social growth in rural areas with quality renewable electricity access available 24 hours a day.

Beyond the supply of electricity, WeLight supports the development of productive uses and businesses by providing a complete ecosystem: microfinance, entrepreneurs empowerment, electrical equipment sales, electrification of municipal buildings, public lighting and social support.

more access to energy thanks to welight
a happy child doing his homework with the light provided by welight's solar solutions
a rural family watching television thanks to welight's solar solutions
preparation before setting up welight's off-grid solar solutions
welight tour - a very enthusiastic winner of the prizes
1200people undertaking
more economic activity
600people who spend
more time working
53industrial entrepreneurs empowered
with tree phase energy

Senior Management

Experienced Shareholders,
Skilled Management

WeLight was born out of the desire of three leading economic players, with an established track-record in Africa, to join forces to accelerate rural electrification on the continent. The combined value of these three shareholders gives WeLight an exceptional capacity, foothold and know-how.

logo-AXIAN.svg

Axian is a diversified group present in five business areas with strong growth potential: telecommunications, financial services, energy, innovation and real estate. With more than 4,900 employees in the Indian Ocean and Africa, Axian is a partner in the economic transformation of emerging countries. A member of the United Nations Global Compact initiative, Axian has placed impact at the heart of its values.

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Norfund.svg

Norfund, Norway’s sovereign development bank manages over US$ 2.6bn AUM in developing countries. Norfund supports the creation of sustainable businesses in emerging markets, in particular by improving access to reliable electricity.

Read more

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Sagemcom, a European group that specialises in network equipment with a unique expertise in installing mini grids and smart metering solutions in over 20 countries across sub-Saharan Africa.

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To accompany you

Our WeLight Team

WeLight is managed by a team of experts who are all at the forefront of their respective fields. Their combined experience and individual track records allow WeLight to deliver on its mission while ensuring the highest-quality service and operational resilence.

romain de villeneuve - welight's chief executive officer
Romain de VILLENEUVEChief Executive Officer Romain has 22 years of experience in the fields of telecommunications, services and renewable energies. He has held international positions in finance, business development and general management (Orange, Alcatel and IHS Group). Romain is also the Order of Malta’s Ambassador for Africa in charge of the fight against human trafficking.
Ted-Boulou-WeLight.jpg
Ted BOULOUChief Operations Officer Engineer from Ecole Polytechnique and holds degrees in Economics and Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris and ENSAE, Ted started his career in the General Inspection Department of Société Générale in France. He then joined the IFC (World Bank Group) in Dakar where he worked on project financing in the energy and transport sectors. In particular, he was in charge of monitoring the portfolio of rural electrification projects. Ted also worked with industrial and financial players (Orange, Air Liquide, I&P) in their development and organization projects in Africa.
veronique perdigon - welight's secretary general
Véronique PERDIGONSecretary General As Secretary General of the Axian Group and CEO of EDM, Véronique Perdigon has built a solid expertise in the fields of finance and energy. She held financial management positions in leading groups (Ciel, Apma) before joining the Axian Group and taking on wider responsibilities as a Board member in several group entities (BNI, TowerCo of Madagascar, WeLight).
Alexandre-Castel-WeLight.jpg
Alexandre CASTELChief Commercial Officier A pioneer in rural electrification in Africa, Alexandre created in 2011 the company Station Energy, specialized in the design and implementation of innovative solutions for energy access in remote areas in Africa. Before joining WeLight, Alexandre was based in Abidjan where he was working since 2018 as Business Development Manager for VINCI Energies in West Africa since 2018.
nicolas sylvestre – welight's chief financial officer
Nicolas SylvestreChief Financial Officer A graduate of HEC Paris, Nicolas Sylvestre began his career in investment banking (Lazard, JP Morgan) before joining IHS, the leading telecom tower operator in Africa, as Group Finance Manager. Nicolas has developed an exceptional know-how in financial analysis and project financing.

NEWS

Articles about us

WeLight electrifies 35 villages with solar energy

In Madagascar, electricity is still a luxury for many households, especially in rural areas where the standard of living is low. On this Indian Ocean Island, Welight has been committed to electrifying villages for the past three years and to date, 35 Malagasy localities have benefited from small solar power...

Energy - WeLight lights up 35 villages

After 3 years of activity, WeLught has just electrified a 35th village in the country. This is equivalent to the connection of five thousand households without interruption, in 6 regions of the Big Island, that is to say more than twenty-five thousand direct beneficiaries and one hundred and fifty thousand indirect beneficiaries.

Mini solar power plants, a solution for the future in Africa

In the north of Madagascar, in the isolated village of Bemaneviky, the arrival of electricity in July 2019 has changed the daily life of the inhabitants. Before, almost all of the 500 households were plunged into darkness; only five were equipped with a solar panel to run a small business.

Impact report 2021