Africa: From Kerosene to the LED, O-Hub And O-Box

In many of Africa’s towns and villages, smoky kerosene lamps are all that keeps the darkness at bay after sunset. However, kerosene is a dangerous and increasingly expensive source of light for Africans who do not have access to electricity — about three-quarters of those living on the continent, according to the World Bank.

Lighting industry entrepreneurs are hoping alternative devices such as solar-powered LED lights will replace the kerosene lamps.
“Africans spend more than 18 billion dollars a year purchasing kerosene,” said Russell Sturm, who heads up the sustainable energy team at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

“And that estimate was done when oil was 35 dollars a barrel, so there is an enormous market for lighting,” he told IPS, adding that the prices of LED devices and solar panels had dropped dramatically over the past three years, and were now competitive with kerosene costs. The price of oil passed the 120 dollar per barrel mark for the first time earlier this week.

It was against this background that the World Bank Group launched the ‘Lighting Africa’ campaign last September. The initiative aims to provide lighting products and other energy services that are not dependent on fossil fuels — and which are safe, reliable and low cost — to some 250 million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Presently, Africans are estimated to spend about 40 billion dollars annually on lighting products powered by fossil fuels.

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