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Welcome to the Mini Grid Moments Powering Communities Across Africa, the podcast where we spotlight pioneers transforming energy access across the continent. I am your host, Shali Kisuya. Today, we journey to Somalia to tell the story of Tamasu. In a country where the sun shines bright nearly every day, millions still live without reliable electricity. But in recent years, something remarkable has been happening in Somalia. A quiet revolution powered by the sun. From bustling markets in Mogadishu to remote fishing villages along the coastline, communities are switching on a new kind of light. Clean, affordable and life-changing. This is the story of Tamarsu, a Somali-born renewable energy company determined to brighten lives and power progress. One minigrid at a time. Tamarso's story began in 2016 when Shamarke Abdul Kadir, a Somali entrepreneur returning home from the Netherlands, saw a problem that many had learned to live with. Expensive, polluting, and reliable energy. Here is Shamarke Abdul Kadir explaining the vision behind Tamarsu.

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When I came back to Somalia from the Netherlands where I've been living for a very long time, I realized that most of the actually all the businesses and families living in Somalia at that time were using either diesel generators or they were using electricity supplied by uh grid operators who are who were uh supplying from diesel uh mini grid. I I saw it as uh something which is not sustainable, and I wanted to make electricity more affordable, more reliable, and something that people could depend on. And that was my uh uh my goal at that time when I came to Somalia in 2016.

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With little background in renewable energy but a clear vision, Shamarke founded Tamarsu, a name that means to get energy in Somali. His mission was simple but ambitious, to bring clean, reliable power to Somalia's homes, businesses and institutions.

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Uh yes, our dreams was to brighten Somalia, to bring energy that fuels growth, uh to power livelihoods, and to do it in a way that protects our environment and uh and that creates jobs. Uh this is uh different than only um thinking about profit or thinking about uh establishing a company which is yeah uh very successful, but also I always I never lost eye on uh the bigger goal which is uh contributing something to the to the people.

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From the very beginning, Tamasu's vision was about more than lights and panels, it was about opportunity, helping small businesses grow, improving education, powering health facilities, and reducing dependence on diesel. Shamarke Abdulkadir explains further.

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When we started, we could not have thought of the expansion that we went through in the last two, three years, and now we even have operations in Kenya soon to even to go to Utopia, of course. Uh I think um we we have we we have set a goal to to do more and more mini-grids um uh in in these two uh three countries, and we target to to reach 50,000 households within the next um four four years uh in in 2030. So uh it's a big challenge. Uh I think we we are working towards that. Next year we have a lot of plans and that will uh uh kick us up to that goal.

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Today, that dream is alive in every project, guided by Tamarso's values of integrity, reliability, innovation, and community partnership. Starting with just two employees in Mogadishu's Bakaro market, Tamarso installed its first 17 kilowatt solar system, a small but powerful beginning. Since then, the company has expanded its services from powering small shops and health centers to building full-scale solar mini-grids that light up entire villages. Listen to Tommaso customers whose lives have been impacted positively by the access to clean and reliable electricity.

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Since we received electricity, I was able to start a small business selling beverages. I bought a new fridge which allowed me to work for myself and generate a steady income. Because of this business, I can now send my children to school and I am able to cover all their expenses through the earnings I make. Electricity has changed my life. I can manage my household needs, support my family, and even save a little from my business. We are truly grateful. Because of this limited power, children struggled with their studies, families had no proper lighting, and moving around the village at night was difficult and unsafe. After Tamarsos installed the mini-grid in Abhaidahanwaine, everything changed. Children are now able to study in the evenings, homes and public areas have reliable lighting, and the community can move around safely at night and see who enters the village. The village has become brighter, more secure, and full of new hope. We are grateful to Tamarso for their transformative work.

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Across Somalia, Tamarso has connected over 5,000 families, hundreds of businesses, and institutions like schools and hospitals, providing clean energy to more than 30,000 people and creating hundreds of jobs. Behind every Tamaso installation lies innovation, from European grade solar panels to locally fabricated inverter enclosures and an in-house universal monitoring system that tracks energy generation in real time. Here is a Tamaso engineer explaining why remote monitoring is critical to their business.

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That's what reliability means to us.

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The company also designs flexible financing models like lease to own and power purchase agreements, making solar affordable even for small enterprises and rural communities. As the founder of Tamarsu puts it, the true measure of success is not in kilowatts, it's in lives changed. Here is Shamarki.

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I will never forget that night that we switched on the electricity in one of the mini grids, uh, our first minigrid. It's a small coastal village. And you know, we also did only not electrification of the houses, but we also had several uh several poles some light. So we turn on uncertain moment, we said uh we counted from 10 and we turn out the electricity, and the whole village electrified. So that night I was there and and and I could not believe what happened. It's the amazing joy of the people when you turn off electricity. I think some people take example, uh kids studying at night and all these things. But for me, it's yeah, having light, walking around the streets at night, children going outside also at nighttime, it still gives me yeah, I think that's the greatest feeling for me uh up until this moment.

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From solar-powered water pumps for farmers to refrigerated vaccine storage in health clinics, Tamaso's work goes beyond energy. It's powering livelihoods, empowering women, and enabling young technicians to build careers in clean energy. Tamaso's growth has been made possible through partnerships with the Somali government, international NGOs, DFIs, and financial institutions like Galaxy Bank and CEMA. These collaborations bring together innovation, financing, and trust, unlocking clean energy for communities that have waited decades to turn on the lights. But the journey hasn't been easy. From financing hurdles to policy gaps and community skepticism. Tamarso has faced its share of challenges, Shamake explains.

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One of our biggest challenges, uh, I think two of our biggest challenges was uh that people did not understand what solar could mean for them. And secondly, when we said that it costs so much money, they used to say, huh, this is too too expensive for us. So uh it was uh educational um challenge for us to teach people it can work with air conditioning, with refrigerators. It was challenging for us in the beginning. In um, I think in the first two, three years, we had a very difficult convincing people. Maybe we we saw like 30 people, 30 customers a month, and then maybe two or three customers a month. We convinced them to go for solar. So I think in uh still the challenge is there, solar is expensive still, um, and a lot of people don't understand it yet, but it is now becoming more and more a thing to buy.

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Through perseverance, training, and community engagement, Tamarso has turned obstacles into lessons showing what's possible when innovation meets determination.

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When we started, uh we could not have thought of um you know the expansion that we went through in the last two or three years, and now we even have um operations in Kenya soon to even to to go to Kenya and to Ethiopia, of course. Um I think um we have we have set a goal to uh to do more and more mini grids um uh in in these two uh three countries. Um we target to to reach 50,000 households uh within the next um four or four years uh in in 2030. So uh it's it's it's a big challenge. Uh I think we we are working towards that, and next year we have a lot of plans and that will uh uh kick us up to that goal.

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Through perseverance, training, and community engagement, Tamarso has turned obstacles into lessons, showing what's possible when innovation meets determination. Looking forward, Tamarso's ambitions shine even brighter. The company plans to build more than a dozen new mini-grids along Somalia's coastline and expand into Kenya and Ethiopia. Shomarke is bullish.

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Our dream is to brighten Somalia and to bring energy that fuels growth, that powers livelihoods, and to do it in a way that protects our environment and creates jobs. Uh I can say we we we are moving forward uh with the um the developers' community in the world, um, and and we are taking the steps necessary to build environment which is um also possible for uh the future.

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With plans to integrate wind systems, hybrid grids, and new digital solutions, Tamarso is shaping not only Somalia's energy future, but also a new narrative for African innovation and resilience. From a single 17 kilowatt system to thousands of lights across Somalia, Tamarso's journey is proof that homegrown solutions can power nations. Here is a Tamaso customer explaining the hope.

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Before Tamarso, we lived in darkness with limited access to electricity. Today, we have reliable light and a renewed sense of hope. I am a member of the Abai Dahan community and a fisherman. Before electricity, returning from night fishing was difficult because the village had no lights or visible markers. It was often so dark that we sometimes lost our way. Now, with electricity, we can easily identify the village from a distance when coming back at night. We also have refrigerators to store our fish, something we never had before. Electricity has truly improved our work and daily life.

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Tamarso is more than an energy company. It's a symbol of what happens when vision meets purpose, when a nation harnesses its greatest resource, the sun. You've been listening to the mini-grid moments powering communities across Africa. To learn more about Tamarso's work, visit Tamarso.com. This podcast has been made possible with support from Inancers and the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, ASMOP. Their commitment to advancing sustainable energy access continues to empower stories like this one, showcasing how innovation and community driven solutions are transforming lives across Africa.