Building a Strong Foundation in Mozambique

Circle of Light - Energy to lift the world's poor out of darkness

Plans to launch additional Energy Stores in Mozambique are on the horizon, but for now, U.S. Circle of Light (CoL) leaders are working with our in-country partner, Light for Development, to build a strong foundation for the program. Before moving ahead with additional communities, refinements are being incorporated into the existing CoL program in the first Mozambique community of Nyampondzwene. "We've learned many things along the way and we are making improvements to our program model," says CoL Executive Director Jim Karins. "We want to build a solid foundation for the program before expanding, so as to grow and expand wisely."

Circle of Light Energy Stores will now be owned and operated by the in-country partner, instead of a community-based cooperative. This will serve to produce more robust revenue streams that will cover our in-country partner’s administrative and operations costs. It is our goal that our Mozambique partner, Light for Development, will become increasingly financially self-sustaining and require no external funding for their administrative and operational expenses.

We are also creating new ownership plans and options that will provide homeowners with more choices and create local accountability mechanisms to better assure payments. Together, these combine to create a more impactful and sustainable CoL program. (Read more about the payment options for CoL systems at www.light4africa.org/situation/solution/solution.html.)