Entrepreneurs in Nairobi make the case for going solar
Entrepreneurs in Nairobi make the case for going solar
内罗毕的企业家们：为何选择太阳能？
Nairobi, Kenya Most of Kenya’s power grid runs on renewables. But with 25% of communities lacking centralized electricity, the nation is looking to off-grid solar to hit its goal of delivering universal electricity access by 2030 without driving up emissions. 肯尼亚内罗毕——肯尼亚的大部分电网依靠可再生能源运行。然而，由于 25% 的社区缺乏集中供电，该国正寄希望于离网太阳能，以实现到 2030 年普及电力供应的目标，同时避免碳排放增加。
The ever-improving economics of solar technology have helped. A couple of years ago, a panel cost about $3 a watt; now it’s down to cents. 太阳能技术不断改善的经济性起到了推动作用。几年前，太阳能电池板的成本约为每瓦 3 美元；而现在，成本已经降至几美分。
On the margins of a bustling Nairobi, we wind past a mix of high-rises and hardware shops interspersed with small plots growing corn or potatoes. After a few minutes, we arrive at a street-side stall run by the bespectacled Milcah Wanjiru. She sells plenty of half-liter packets of milk, loaves of bread, and matches, but Wanjiru’s core business is a service: She mills corn flour for local residents, which they most often use in ugali—a common Kenyan dish that is similar to polenta, albeit less creamy. 在繁华的内罗毕边缘，我们穿过高楼大厦与五金店交织的街道，路旁零星分布着种植玉米或土豆的小块土地。几分钟后，我们抵达了一个由戴眼镜的 Milcah Wanjiru 经营的路边摊。她售卖大量的半升装牛奶、面包和火柴，但 Wanjiru 的核心业务是一项服务：为当地居民磨玉米粉。居民们通常用它来制作“乌加里”（ugali）——一种常见的肯尼亚主食，类似于玉米糊，但口感没那么细腻。
In the middle of her small shop, a milling machine stands on three adjustable legs. “Whenever customers came to mill their grain, they asked for other goods,” says Wanjiru, “and this is how I got to stock these other items.” 在她小店的中央，一台磨粉机立在三条可调节的支腿上。“每当顾客来磨谷物时，他们都会顺便问有没有其他商品，”Wanjiru 说，“我就是这样开始储备这些杂货的。”
Shops with a grain mill are common here in rural areas and most neighborhoods, especially low-income ones—even in the city. But most of these mills burn diesel fuel. Hers? It runs on either solar energy or electricity from the grid. 在肯尼亚的农村地区和大多数社区，尤其是低收入社区（即使是在城市里），配备磨粉机的商店很常见。但这些磨粉机大多使用柴油。而她的机器呢？它既可以使用太阳能，也可以使用电网供电。
Matt Carr, the CEO and cofounder of Agsol, the company that designed Wanjiru’s mill, is here with me, visiting to get her feedback on his product. One issue bothers her. “It can be slow,” Wanjiru tells Carr, explaining that grains can get stuck in the front chamber where they feed into the machine. Sometimes, the whole thing jams. 设计这款磨粉机的公司 Agsol 的首席执行官兼联合创始人 Matt Carr 正与我同行，此行是为了收集她对产品的反馈。有一个问题困扰着她。“它有时会很慢，”Wanjiru 对 Carr 解释说，谷物有时会卡在进料的前腔里。有时，整台机器会完全堵塞。
Carr says the mill automatically reduces its speed if the grain is at all damp, so that the pulverizing hammers within can squeeze out as much flour as possible. That process can unfortunately lead to the problem she’s describing. Carr 表示，如果谷物稍有潮湿，磨粉机会自动降低速度，以便内部的粉碎锤能尽可能多地磨出面粉。遗憾的是，这一过程可能会导致她所描述的问题。
Overall, Wanjiru seems happy with the machine, which she’s been using since December 2025. It makes running her business cheaper. About 40% of what shop owners who use diesel-powered mills charge customers goes toward paying for fuel, according to Carr, whereas operating Agsol’s solar-powered machine can be up to 80% more profitable once the initial cost (about $1,300) is paid off, which takes between six and 12 months. 总的来说，Wanjiru 对这台自 2025 年 12 月起就开始使用的机器感到满意。它降低了她的经营成本。据 Carr 介绍，使用柴油磨粉机的店主，其向顾客收取的费用中约有 40% 用于支付燃料费；而一旦收回初始成本（约 1300 美元，通常需要 6 到 12 个月），Agsol 的太阳能磨粉机能带来高达 80% 的额外利润。
Wanjiru also likes the fact that—unlike diesel-burning models—her mill can handle very small amounts of grain, which has brought a few new customers her way. Wanjiru 还喜欢一点：与柴油驱动的型号不同，她的磨粉机可以处理极少量的谷物，这为她带来了一些新顾客。
Carr launched the first Agsol product in 2018 in Kenya and has raised over $4 million of investment—much of that via a UK government program that supports clean energy projects in the region. Last year, Agsol sold 530 units. The company, which is based just outside Nairobi, has received orders from as far as Mozambique and Angola. Carr 于 2018 年在肯尼亚推出了首款 Agsol 产品，并筹集了超过 400 万美元的投资——其中大部分来自英国政府支持该地区清洁能源项目的计划。去年，Agsol 售出了 530 台设备。这家总部位于内罗毕郊外的公司，甚至收到了来自莫桑比克和安哥拉的订单。
As we say goodbye to Wanjiru, she turns and bends over burlap sacks half full of peanuts, mung beans, rice, and millet, arranged neatly on wooden pallets on the cement floor. She lifts a scoopful from one of the sacks and dumps its contents on a scale. A customer waits to be served. 当我们向 Wanjiru 道别时，她转过身，弯腰去整理那些半满的麻袋，里面装着花生、绿豆、大米和小米，整齐地摆放在水泥地面的木托盘上。她从其中一个麻袋里舀出一勺，倒在秤上。一位顾客正在等待服务。
Geoffrey Kamadi is an award-winning freelance journalist based in Nairobi, focusing on science, climate change, environment, technology, and development. Geoffrey Kamadi 是一位常驻内罗毕的获奖自由撰稿人，专注于科学、气候变化、环境、技术和发展领域。