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Basics

Describe yourself briefly.

After completing a PhD at MIT with research in quantum information, I directed his energy towards less esoteric subjects with more immediate impact: I did prototyping work with a microbial fuel cell startup, helped develop a business plan for geothermal heating systems, and started to pull together ideas and a team for this energy company that serves customers in the developing world. The EGG-energy team saw that the lack of last-mile distribution caused hundreds of millions of people to spend too much money on unsafe and unclean energy sources. We developed a battery subscription service that uses existing supply channels to create a virtual grid that provides light, mobile phone charging, and power for radio to customers who have no access to the national electricity grid. EGG-energy won a few business plan competitions and raised some money, and used this money to kick off the venture in Tanzania in June 2009. I am currently based in Tanzania managing the development and growth of EGG-energy.

Describe your Unreasonable Venture in 100 words or less.

Over 500 million people in Africa lack electricity services that could enable them to better study, deliver health care, or do business. This shortfall results in reliance on unsafe and polluting alternatives such as kerosene and disposable batteries. These inferior options are also expensive: An average household spends $125/year on lighting, radio usage, and mobile phone charging. We are trying to shrink this massive gap between what people in developing countries spend for power and what they receive.

Rather than sell a product, EGG-energy sells a service. We send our electricians to the customer’s home or business to install a full electrical system, including high-efficiency LED light bulbs, wiring, and switches. Our subscription entitles the customer to swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one for a small fee. Our customers save money while gaining access to cleaner and safer energy services.

EGG-energy customers can immediately improve their quality of life while building the grid from the ground up. We aggregate customer demand at our charging stations, creating a market for distributed generation and laying the foundation for a smart grid.

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Team

Describe your relevant experience (especially entrepreneurial).

After completing a PhD at MIT in quantum computation, I have directed my energy towards less esoteric subjects with more immediate impact: I did prototyping work with a microbial fuel cell startup, helped develop a business plan for geothermal heating systems, and pulled together ideas and a team for this energy company that serves customers in the developing world.

I soon saw that EGG-energy had tremendous potential, and after we won a few competitions and raised some money, I was excited to move to Tanzania to test it out. I have been here since June 2009 running the pilot and am eager to take EGG-energy to the next level.

Why is your team uniquely qualified to run this venture?

EGG-energy was founded by a group of Engineering PhDs and MBAs from MIT and Harvard with broad experience in sub-Saharan Africa. The team includes a PhD candidate studying the propagation of the electricity grid in Tanzania, the author of an award-nominated book studying energy solutions around the world, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, and a former Business Plan Competition Manager for TechnoServe in Swaziland.

Six Tanzanian staff members are operating our pilot site and preparing our next site. One manager in particular has been terrific in pushing our business forward and we are continually building a strong base of entrepreneurial Tanzanians. Also, our EGG Fellows, highly skilled volunteers who have come here to lead key initiatives, have been invaluable.

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Venture

What is the urgent social or environmental need you're addressing?

Over 500 million people in Africa lack electricity services that could enable them to better study, deliver health care, and do business. We are operating in Tanzania first.

According to a study by Lighting Africa, 3/4 of small business owners in Tanzania rank lack of electricity as the greatest constraint on their business. This shortfall results in reliance on unsafe and polluting options such as kerosene and disposable batteries.

These inferior options are also expensive: An average Tanzanian household spends $125/year on lighting, radio usage, and mobile phone charging (data from EGG-energy surveys, supported by UNEP & IFC studies).

We are trying to shrink this massive gap between what people in developing countries spend for power and the quality of the service that they receive.

What is your solution to this need? Describe your business strategy.

Rather than sell a product, EGG-energy sells a service: the ability to power lights, mobile phones, and radios. We send our electricians to the customer’s home or business to install a full electrical system, including high-efficiency LED light bulbs, wiring, and switches. Our subscription entitles the customer to swap a depleted battery for a fully charged one for a small fee. Our customers save money while gaining access to cleaner and safer energy services.

EGG-energy enables its customers to make affordable investments in electricity infrastructure: They can immediately improve their quality of life while building the grid from the ground up. We aggregate customer demand at our charging stations, driving demand for solar or wind generation and laying the foundation for a smart grid.

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Milestones

Convince us it will work. What milestones have you achieved?

EGG-energy arrived in Tanzania in June 2009, ran a feasibility study, and opened a pilot site in November 2009.

We have raised funds from business plan competitions, an investor, and the Echoing Green Fellowship.

Our pilot site, located in a rural area 40 km west of Dar es Salaam's city center, has confirmed strong customer demand for our service and given us a strong start towards building robust and scalable operations. As of the end of December 2010, EGG-energy has served 360 customers and has sold a total of more that 600 subscriptions (including renewals). Over this time, we have hired 11 employees, overcome theft, written a franchise operations manual, implemented a sales commission, and developed a network of distributors. We still have a lot to do, and could use your help!

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