Speaker 1: 0:09

Solar mini-grids have turned from small pilots to an electrification wave. We were there when mini-grid regulation was established, when financial transactions were closed. We saw new technology thrive and companies fail. This is where we tell the stories. This is where we discuss the future the mini-grid business Powered by Inensis.

Speaker 2: 0:39

Good evening friends, colleagues, partners and the Inensos team who flew in from almost around the world. 20 years of Inensos, from Goslar to Gambia, from remote islands in Lake Victoria to the corridors of ministries and development banks across Africa and Asia. What a journey it's been. When we started Inensos, we didn't set out to build a consultancy. We set out to change the future of energy access, because we believed, and still believe, that electricity is not a luxury. It is a prerequisite for development, for dignity and for opportunity. Today I'm proud not just of the projects we've completed or the policies we've helped shape, but of something deeper. We've stayed true to our mission and we are one of the few consultancies in the sector that also operate micro-utilities. We put ideas to the test not only in policy documents or PowerPoint decks, but in the real world. We've walked the dusty paths of Senegalese villages with Inersa. We spent countless hours in boats on Lake Victoria with Jumeme. We've connected lives and businesses in Uganda with Volterra. We've brought energy to places no one else wanted to go, not because it was easy, but because it mattered. Go Not because it was easy, but because it mattered. We have been the spearhead of innovation. We designed the micropower manager before most people thought digital tools could transform mini-grids. We introduced the keymaker model, one option for rural industrialization when no one believed small villages could host industries. We helped shape the first mini-grid regulations that made room for the private sector at a time when the sector barely existed. We've taken risks technical, financial, political. We've made mistakes, but we've learned, adapted and improved and, perhaps most importantly, we've listened to regulators, to governments, to operators, to funders and to communities. Let me confess a classic Inensus failure, one that smells faintly of tilapia.

Speaker 2: 2:58

A few years ago, on the Lake Victoria Islands, I set out to fix the coal chain for local fishers around our mini-grids. I had a beautifully simple plan We'll power local ice production, pack the catch on ice and voila Fresh fish at shore, happy buyers, happy margins. I became the ice guy. We did spreadsheets, pilots, kpis, kilograms of ice per kilogram of fish, ice makers, humming boxes, packed boats pushing off like floating cocktail coolers. And then reality by the time the boats reached the buyers, the fish had gone on a spa day. They were relaxed, yes, but also lighter. The meltwater did its quiet work and the fish lost weight in transit. Our revenue, priced per kilogram, melted even faster than the ice.

Speaker 2: 4:03

The business case didn't just slip, it dripped. For weeks I tweaked everything More ice, better boxes, different loading patterns. If there was a way to rearrange ice I tried it. Nothing stopped the drip loss. Profits kept evaporating, literally Months later.

Speaker 2: 4:26

After one particularly soggy debrief, the blindingly obvious finally hit me Stop icing, start freezing. Put local deep freezers at the source. Every trawler on the ocean does this for a reason. Frozen fish doesn't cry itself away on the way to market. We flipped the model Deep freeze at the island, solid product to shore weight, stable margins intact. And suddenly the spreadsheet started smiling back.

Speaker 2: 5:01

What did I learn? Three things. First, clever is nice, physics always wins. Second, if your margins are melting, check whether your product is too. And third, at Inensus we don't hide failures. We freeze them, label them and stack them neatly so everyone can learn. Looking back, it all seems obvious. Looking forward, that's the point. Fail fast, learn faster. And when in doubt, don't add more ice, add a freezer.

Speaker 2: 5:37

The Inensos approach. Some think our dual role consultants and operators make us too bold, too challenging, but I believe this role has given us a perspective that few others have. We understand the whole ecosystem, from boots on the ground to bank boardrooms, from the regulator's dilemma to the mini-grid CEO spreadsheet. We have the ability and the responsibility to help balance interests between public and private donors and developers, impact and investment. And while we may not be the most influential voice in the sector, I do believe we are one of the most integrative. If you've worked in mini-grids over the last 10 years, chances are Inensos has quietly shaped a part of your journey, whether through a tariff model, a due diligence process, a training session or a regulatory guideline.

Speaker 2: 6:38

And the sector is evolving. When Inensos started in 2005, I didn't think mini-grids would take 20 years to lift off. And yet here we are. A new phase is finally opening. Billions are committed, governments are embracing decentralized solutions, donors are pulling in the same direction and the private sector has shifted from a polite nod to a genuine tell me more. It's early, but the door is open. Costs are down to build and to operate, teams are sharper. Execution is better Still for our risk profile, mini-grids are not the hot ticket yet. Investors are curious, not convinced. If we want deployment to meet the scale of the need, curiosity must become confidence. That calls for another step change, not in slogans, in business models. Many in mini-grids still think in kilowatt hours.

Speaker 2: 7:40

Yet electricity isn't the destination, it's the vehicle to productivity, and that's where our attention belongs. Mineral resources, rare earth, hardwood, spices, cattle, fish, diamonds it's all in rural Africa, not close to the cities. What is industry waiting for? Micro-utilities supply power, wi-fi, clean water at almost any place in Africa. What else do you need? Logistics, managerial services, local technical expertise. Maybe some micro utilities want to pick this up. Where are the telecom, energy hybrids, the solar powered agro processors, the data center operators that connect the surrounding community to electricity? It is these kinds of business models we need in the future. What if governments set up tax incentives and long-term product offtake deals to attract established industrial players into rural processing, provided those players electrify the nearby communities, of course? United Nations may produce agricultural inputs for food programs and refugee operations from rural communities with mini-grids, creating stable product offtake rather than defaulting to international suppliers under standard procurement.

Speaker 2: 8:57

This sector needs another change in mindset, because what we should be building is not just power stations. It's platforms for rural industrialization, rural transformation. In the past, the how-can-I-support mindset had produced familiar tools Productive use of electricity grants, appliance finance for shop owners that can barely afford the smallest devices, training programs for local entrepreneurs with a secondary education and endless analysis of what extra inputs might kickstart local growth. Helpful, yes, but not sufficient. By contrast, a how-can-I-engage mindset changes who participates and how. It asks large organizations and governments to source products from rural areas to kickstart production and potentially incentivize industrial companies to take the extra hassle to go rural. That is why we believe so strongly in sector coupling.

Speaker 2: 10:07

Many grids must connect not only cables but people to opportunity, products to markets and rural Africa to the global economy. Take the engage perspective and several things happen at once Mini-grid cash flows stabilize, risks fall, financing costs decline and more capital flows to operators. Scaling accelerates and with it, electrification. Hailing accelerates and with it, electrification. This is what we have always wanted, but achieving it requires you and me to change our perspective from how can I support to how can I engage.

Speaker 2: 10:46

Still, people tell me that industry in Africa will never go rural. They say it's too complex. But can't micro-utilities reduce this complexity? They know the communities, they know the environment, they have the social and political networks readily established. Well, I have seen this type of resistance against change before. 20 years ago people called us crazy. We called it another day at the office. We said mini-grids could be privately run and scaled. Some laughed. One gentleman basically auditioned for a megaphone at a conference. Mini-grids will never be profitable, always a government burden. We smiled, nodded and kept going. Today the sector graduated from cute pilot to please send me the term sheet.

Speaker 2: 11:39

Our next big bet is rural industrialization, the sequel, mini grids 2.0. The power strikes back. It might keep us busy for another 20 years and, yes, we at Denenzus plan to guide it and lead it, preferably with fewer megaphones and more factories. But seriously, at Denenzus, we are ready for this transformation. We will continue to test new business models, sometimes failing, often learning, always sharing. We will remain a think tank, a knowledge hub and a practical innovator, and we may take on a new role as a curator of a growing network through GAIN, the German African Import Network, linking African rural producers powered by mini-grids to buyers in Germany and beyond. We want to help African enterprises not only consume electricity but use it to create value, not just electrify a school but power a generation of thinkers, builders and leaders. But before we need to overcome another challenge.

Speaker 2: 12:48

Who of you knows the Minigrid Business Podcast? Please show me your hands, thank you. I reviewed our podcast, guests and speakers. They reflect the sector well. But one thing struck me, over 60% were international. Only about 40% were from Africa. For years, the African mini-grid sector has been shaped largely by international players. If we want full acceptance in African societies, the African mini-grid sector has been shaped largely by international players. If we want full acceptance in African societies, the sector must become more African. At Inensos, we've taken action by growing our African team, but the sector also needs more African representation in shareholding, company leadership, investment committees and among financiers.

Speaker 2: 13:35

To our partners and clients World Bank, afdb, undp, unicef, UNOPS, amda, are, giz, kfw, isa, se4all, geop and many more you believed in our ability to see the bigger picture. Thank you for letting us challenge the status quo and thank you for challenging us in return To the regulators, ministries and governments. Your work is complex, often underappreciated, but absolutely essential. Thank you for working with us to find common ground and for letting us be a part of your country's energy stories To our fellow consultants and mini-grid companies. Even when we disagree, we learn from each other. Our goal is shared a thriving sector that transforms lives. To our team from Goslar, berlin, addis, nairobi, antananarivo and beyond, you are the heartbeat of Inensos. It is your curiosity, resilience and care that made these 20 years possible. Let me close with this we don't light homes, we ignite potential. We don't just power machines, we power dreams. And after 20 years, we are not slowing down. The mini-grid sector is ready for its next chapter and Inensos will be there writing it, testing it, building it together with all of you, Asante sana.

Speaker 1: 15:17

This episode of the mini-grid business has been brought to you by Enensis, your one-stop shop for sustainable mini-grids. For more information on how to make mini-grids work, visit our website, enensiscom, or contact us through the links in the show notes. The mini-grid business Powered by Enensis.