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.

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L’article Lagazel’s after-sales service network expands to Saint-Louis, Senegal est apparu en premier sur Lagazel.

Perfectly adapted to development projects, Lagazel collective charging station enables the simultaneous charge of 40 solar lamps. Installed in a school for example, it allows pupils to study in the evening at home thanks to a reliable light source.

This system is also a positive way of encouraging education: children must go back to school every day to continue to use their lamp.

Today, more than 13 000 people benefit from the station, within 7 African countries.

« The project completion in the school of Kierma has allowed not only to reduce educational inequality regarding energy access, but also to raise awareness on the possibility of giving a rechargeable lamp to every child and indeed, increasing school attendance. »   Boubacar OUEDRAOGO, Président of the Burkinabe association Aide & Action du Bazéga

Click here to read the project note and discover some projects. 

Click here to watch the video in Kierma’s school in Burkina Faso.

The post Lagazel’s charging station : a light library to improve learning conditions first appeared on Lagazel.

L’article Lagazel’s charging station : a light library to improve learning conditions est apparu en premier sur Lagazel.

PAYGO (for Pay-as-you-go) photovoltaic systems incorporate a digital technology that allows end-users to pay their solar systems as long as they use it. This business model undergone a significant rise over the past few years. It makes it easier for low-income rural populations to access solar energy as the investment barrier is removed. By now on, LAGAZEL Sobox solar-home-systems are available with PAYGO technology from Solaris Offgrid. Combined with the PaygOps software from Solaris Offrid, LAGAZEL Sobox distributors can now manage the repayment of the product and associated services over several months/years, but also optimize their business processes and other after-sale services in order to be more efficient and profitable.

LAGAZEL Sobox solar-home-systems have been manufactured for one year in LAGAZEL facility in Burkina Faso. In the beginning, the French-African manufacturer offers two references: the Sobox light solar-home-system, with 3 bulblights and one portative lamp, can provide light for an off-grid house; and they can also power 12V devices like an efficient fan and TV. This local manufacturing model not only offers benefits in terms of local job creation and local economic development, but it also enables the implementation of a proximity after-sales service that ensures optimal operation during the warranty period and beyond.

The first LAGAZEL Sobox solar-home-systems are currently being delivered in Mali and new orders are expected throughout the West-african region. For more information about such solutions, please contact LAGAZEL or PaygOps teams.

About Lagazel

Lagazel is the first company manufacturing solar products in Africa at an industrial scale in order to bring a proximity solution to off-grid families. Since 2016, 65,000 solar lamps and solar-home-systems have been manufactured in Burkina Faso according to Lighting Global quality standards, and a second facility is currently being installed in Benin. www.lagazel.com.

About Solaris Offgrid

Solaris Offgrid supports solar energy distributors to build strong customer traction and greater relations with investors through flexible and inclusive Paygo solutions, designed for last-mile operations. Adopting a bottom up approach in the design of its solutions and creating synergies with a strong network of partners to solve last-mile challenges, the company has already deployed Paygo solutions in nearly 30 countries through PaygOps, Solaris Offgrid in-house software solution built “In the Field, for the Field” and its product design services. Leading reference in the off-grid solar market, PaygOps, is engineered to deliver modular and interoperable solutions to address off-grid energy access challenges and distribution complexity. For more information on PaygOps, please contact enquiries@paygops.com.

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L’article Lagazel Sobox solar-home-systems are now available with PAYGO feature and are compatible with PaygOps from Solaris Offgrid est apparu en premier sur Lagazel.

Lagazel, the first company to have industrialised the production of certified solar lamps and home solar systems in West Africa, was selected within the framework of this program to implement a project aiming at Strengthening and developing the local added-value of LAGAZEL manufacturing facilities, in Burkina Faso and Benin. The objective is to offer quality products and parts to the solar off-grid industry and to create local sustainable jobs.

The project includes 3 main components:

1. Increase local added-value of Lagazel range of products (solar lamps, solar-home-systems)
2. Initiate the production of solar products components and parts, as local manufacturing outsourcing service for other players in the off-grid sector
3. Initiate local R&D activities in order to develop new products with low technological content, that will be manufactured locally.

As this project includes a high “Action-Research” component, LAGAZEL engaged in a partnership with the Institute for Social Research in Africa (IFSRA), an association founded by researchers of the Insuco group to promote applied research on local development issues and territorial governance in Africa. The objective of IFSRA mission is to evaluate the viability of the local production, its impact on employability, and the the direct and indirect social and economic repercussions on the local population and the local communities. In the framework of this study, a student in Master 2 Crisis prevention and social peace management of the IAC Ouagadougou will write his Master thesis on Electrification and Conflict Management.

The post Strenghten and develop local added-value of Lagazel production facilities first appeared on Lagazel.

L’article Strenghten and develop local added-value of Lagazel production facilities est apparu en premier sur Lagazel.

Within the framework of the Global LEAP Awards Solar E-Waste Challenge, supported by USAID, LAGAZEL will implement an innovative project that aims to facilitate sustainable e-waste management of used batteries from the solar sector. In Burkina Faso and then in Benin, the objective is to reuse end-of-life lithium battery cells in second life battery packs and integrate an innovative battery management system (BMS) to enable individual cell usage and management.  The project will create a productive use for the stockpiles of Li-ion batteries discarded by the off-grid solar sector in West Africa.

To face technical barriers, LAGAZEL benefits from the support of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). LAGAZEL will also partner with distributors and local players in recycling, for example the Association Burkinabè pour la Promotion des Emplois Verts (APBEV), in order to collect cylindrical batteries in appropriate conditions. Anyone who has interest in this topic can contact LAGAZEL, who needs any support to perform successfully this innovative project.

The post Developing second hand battery packs in the off-grid energy sector first appeared on Lagazel.

L’article Developing second hand battery packs in the off-grid energy sector est apparu en premier sur Lagazel.