Since 2019, the NGO The Partnership has been helping to spread collective charging stations and Kalo solar lamps in the St. Louis region. By mid-2023, the region will have more than 50 charging stations and 3200 lamps in use. To ensure the sustainability of the lighting service and the longevity of the projects, the Partnership has worked with Lagazel to set up a local after-sales service point in Saint-Louis in early 2022.
A contract for the establishment of an approved after-sales service point was signed between Lagazel and the Diapalanté Center, a reception center whose main objective is to support young people in difficulty in their professional careers. The first young person, Abdoulaye Tchoï, was trained in Thiès in solar energy, and a second is currently being trained. The Center has acquired a lot of equipment and tools (soldering iron, sets of pliers and screwdrivers, tester, desoldering pump, multimeter …) which is available to the two young people to conduct their business.
“Before, we had to send the lamps back to Thiès, where Lagazel Senegal is based, for repairs. The establishment of the after-sales service point in Saint-Louis means that the lamps can be repaired more quickly,” explains Djibo Ka, who is in charge of the School Water Access Program (PAEMS) at The Partnership. A Kalo charging station has also been installed at the Center to recharge the lamps before distribution.
Abdoulaye Tchoï, the young man accompanied by the Diapalanté Center who manages the after-sales service point, is also satisfied. He says: “It is the Diapalanté Center that first allowed me to do a training in solar energy at the level of the Center of training, application and incubation to the photovoltaic professions (CEFEMER) PROMESS in Thiès. During my training, I was able to gather knowledge and extreme skills on solar renewable energy. This training allowed me to manage the after-sales service point with the quality and the experience acquired. Thank you to Diapalante Center and Lagazel who allowed me to be what I am today “.
On November 17, 2022, Gilles Guyot, Lagazel Design Office Manager, and Claire Le Ster, Operations Manager, had the opportunity to visit the after-sales service point in Saint-Louis. This was an opportunity to share with the team of the Partnership and the Diapalanté Center some good practices to refurbish used lamps. Techniques for recharging discharged batteries were presented to local technicians, and live tests were carried out on a few defective products. “These returns from the after-sales service are very important for us. They enable us to develop our products to make them even more durable and efficient,” explains Gilles Guyot, head of Lagazel’s design office. For example, the company recently changed the reference for the cap that seals the lamp’s ports, to make them more resistant. Indeed, the caps were sometimes damaged by children playing with the lamps.
This strategy of making available a local after-sales service is part of the DNA of the Lagazel company, which from the beginning has designed products that are easily repairable and whose local manufacturing model allows for spare components to be available locally, as well as a qualified workforce to assemble and repair the products. In parallel to this visit to Saint-Louis, two other training sessions on after-sales service for Lagazel products were held in Bamako, Mali and in Lomé and Togoville, Togo.
