In a remarkable display of entrepreneurial spirit, Farmers Voice Africa (FAVOA), a Lilongwe-based farmers organisation, has ventured into international trade, exporting solar powered generators to Zambia.
The solar-powered generators are an innovation which the organisation’s manufacturing wing developed late last year.
The organisation’s president Brighton Jeremoti Zakaria says the move has expanded FAVOA’s business footprint.
Zakaria said FAVOA’s generator export business began in response to Zambia’s growing demand for reliable power solutions.
“After noticing power problems rocking Zambia, our leadership leveraged this and using our expertise in agriculture, manufacturing of reliable solar-powered generators and trade we established a supply chain,” said Zakaria.
The organisation has since established a permanent office in Lusaka, Zambia, cementing it’s presence in the country.
The solar-powered generators being sold in Zambia are manufactured in Area 8, Lilongwe where FAVOA’s head offices are located.
“Our presence here in Zambia has only been for a few months but already consumers here have seen how our generators are affordable, durable and tailored to meet local needs,” said Zakaria.
Currently, the organisation says it exports on average of 15 solar-powered generators per month to Zambia, raking in an average of US$20,000 dollars per month.
“Our vision is to become a leading regional player in energy solutions,” he added.
Professor Kondwani Mukuni, a farmer based in Chilanga area in Lusaka has described FAVOA’s gensets as reliable.
“These solar powered generators are simply maverous, they don’t produce any noise, no emissions, simply clean energy,” said Mukuni.
Economic expert and lecturer of commerce at Nkhoma University in Lilongwe, Vincent Matiya Chirwa has described FAVOA’s exploits as a step in the right direction, saying time has come for the country to start exporting more goods to get the much needed forex.
